Author: Scott Ogata

Episode 391 – Create Images That Inspire Respect and Faith

>> “The Dharma of conditions arising is profound, subtle and wondrous.”

>> Which is “difficult to see and understand, and also difficult to contemplate. In searching for the Buddha in our minds, we use a skillfully painted image to find the Buddha in our hearts.”

>> “[There were] those who, in the barren waste, piled up earth into a Buddha-shrine, Or even children who, at play, have piled up sand to make a stupa. People such as these, have all realized the path to Buddhahood.”

>> “[There were] those who, for the Buddhas, have created images. carving these myriads of marks. They have all realized the path to Buddhahood. Perhaps they used the seven treasures, or bronze, or copper, red and white.”

>> There were those who wanted the Buddha-Dharma to spread throughout the world, to always abide in this world and forever benefit sentient beings. Therefore they established all kinds of images to inspire respect and faith in sentient beings.

>> Carving all kinds of statues, they have all realized the path to Buddhahood: If those who carve statues and sculpt all kinds of images do so with utmost sincerity and respect and can maintain that mindset forever, they can all realize the path to Buddhahood.

In our lives, karmic conditions arise and cease. This is a very subtle and wondrous matter, difficult to contemplate and comprehend. Therefore, I want to share these [teachings on] “conditions.”

“The Dharma of conditions arising is profound, subtle and wondrous.”

When conditions arise, in them we can see very subtle and wondrous Dharma,

Which is “difficult to see and understand, and also difficult to contemplate. In searching for the Buddha in our minds, we use a skillfully painted image to find the Buddha in our hearts.”

Indeed, [the purpose of] creating images or building temples, stupas and so on is only for us to solidly establish the Buddha-Dharma in the world. This allows other people to learn the Dharma when they see the image and, at same time, allows us to find it in our own hearts. However, this takes various causes and conditions. For our minds to converge with the Dharma, we need [the right] karmic conditions. So it is said, “The Dharma of conditions arising is profound, subtle and wondrous.” The way conditions converge is truly a subtle and wondrous thing; underlying this is very profound Dharma.

I often tell everyone, we must believe in the law of cause and effect. When the Buddha was in the world, even the skillful, provisional teachings He gave were inseparable from causes and conditions. Even at the Lotus Dharma-assembly, when. He set aside the provisional to reveal the true, He still talked about the law of karma. This clearly shows that cause and effect is a true principle of the Buddha-Dharma. Therefore, “The Dharma of conditions arising is profound, subtle and wondrous.” It is so subtle and wondrous, thus it is “difficult to see and understand, and also difficult to contemplate.” Even when our own causes and conditions converge, we still have different karmic connections with different people.

Within our social circle, we have karmic connections with our family, with the friends around us and with our fellow spiritual practitioners. I think everyone’s [life] is different because of the arising and ceasing of their conditions, which may lead to unbearable suffering. But the convergence of causes and conditions can also help us accomplish our spiritual practice. So, karmic “conditions” are truly inconceivable.

The Buddha constantly taught the Dharma with analogies and causes and conditions. In one teaching, He talked about how, long ago, deep in the mountains, there was a spiritual practitioner who thoroughly understood the Dharma. He had already achieved Arhatship and he engaged in spiritual practice deep in the mountains. In a nearby village, there lived a child. The child was only seven years old, but had questions about the workings of life. He hoped his parents would give him the freedom to leave home so he could seek the Dharma. He was able to reason with and convince his mother. She felt very reluctant, but she allowed her child to leave.

The seven-year-old looked everywhere for a good teacher. A few days later, the causes and conditions came together for him; he found this spiritual practitioner. The spiritual practitioner was very advanced in his spiritual cultivation, and felt this child was different from the children he typically encountered. So, he happily accepted him [as a disciple] and took him along to engage in spiritual practice in the deep mountains. Both teacher and disciple worked very hard.

Several years passed, until one day, as this child was sitting in meditation, a smile suddenly appeared on his face. So when he finished meditating, his teacher asked him, “Just now, when you were sitting in meditation, why did a smile appear on your face? What made you smile?” This child sighed and said, “It was so incredible! While I was sitting in meditation, I seemed to see how five different mothers toiled for my sake and were afflicted, depressed and tormented.”

He said, “I saw, when my first mother gave birth to me, a neighbor woman who was also pregnant gave birth at the same time. So on that same day, two women in this village gave birth, and my mother was one of them. After I was born, the entire family was happy. Unfortunately, our karmic connection was weak and I passed away after a few days. Every time my mother saw the neighbor’s child, every time she saw anyone else’s child, she felt heartbroken. Every single day was the same for her; she felt tormented and afflicted.”

“Then my second mother gave birth to me. After several months passed, I again passed away at a young age. My mother felt a piercing pain in her heart. This was my second mother.”

“After my third mother gave birth to me, I lived for ten years before I died once again. After ten years together, this was hard on her. When this mother saw children my age, she would think of me. Even now, she still feels that sadness and affliction.”

“Then I was born again, to my fourth mother. After 20 years, there was an accident and I died again. After spending 20 years together, she had placed so much hope on me. Suddenly, impermanence struck and she felt as if her heart had been cut by a knife. Even to this very moment, this mother still weeps over [my death].”

“My fifth and current mother gave birth to me and raised me. When I was seven, I sensed the profound mystery of life, so I wanted to seek the origin of our lives and asked my mother to let me leave home to engage in spiritual practice. My mother was very reluctant. Even now that I have become a monastic, my mother still cannot let me go.”

“In these five lifetimes, over a period of time of just a few decades, my five mothers went through so much suffering. The workings of karma are truly inconceivable. Thinking about these successive lifetimes of birth and death, my causes and conditions took me through very many familial relationships. These connections we had, good and bad, brought us together and pulled us apart.”

So, his teacher asked him, “Now that you know these five mothers are, as a result of your time with them, heartbroken, afflicted, pained and tormented, what are you thinking?” This child shook his head, smiled wryly and answered his teacher by saying, “What can be done? People’s lives are tormented by birth and death, so I cannot be attached to and linger on the numerous lifetimes I have lived over many kalpas. There is nothing else I can do. Now that I understand the workings of cyclic existence, I have to be even more earnest and work hard to transcend birth and death to put an end to fragmentary samsara. But [ending] transformational samsara will take more work.”

Therefore, “The Dharma of conditions arising is profound, subtle and wondrous.” How did these karmic conditions come about? After one mother gave birth, why did her karmic connection with him last only a few days? After another mother gave birth to this child, just when he was so adorable and bringing so much happiness to everyone, why was their karmic connection terminated?

And in this lifetime, [though] he could understand the purpose of life, his mother felt so much sadness when he left to engage in spiritual practice. The workings of these karmic conditions are wondrously profound, hard to see, understand and contemplate.

We all go through birth, age, illness and death. If we just let each day pass, we cannot realize the profundity of life. It is “difficult to see and understand, and also difficult to contemplate.” The only thing [we can do] is to find the best way to use this body that our parents gave us. We must quickly become mindful of this. In this lifetime, we must attain the Buddha-Dharma so we can be transformed. If we do not attain the Buddha-Dharma, we will always live in a state of confusion and find things “difficult to see and understand, and also difficult to contemplate.” If we want to understand, if we make this aspiration, that is a good thing. Some people never even think of trying to understand things like, “How did I come to this world? What am I living for?” Many people never think about these things.

So, now we have this opportunity to investigate how our life came to be. Although we still do not know how it came about, at least, we know that “all things arise from causes and conditions,” so we are born because of our karmic connection to our parents. Now that we know about this, about our affinities with the parents who gave us this body, how should we use our body to benefit the world?

We know [how to end] fragmentary samsara but how can we end transformational samsara? Transformational samsara is the arising and ceasing of our minds’ afflictions, the instability of our thoughts. Doesn’t this happen to all of us? So, there is a kind of wondrously profound principle behind this. Therefore, we must keep on searching, and promptly look for the Buddha within us.

So, we “search for the Buddha in our minds.” There is a Buddha in our minds. How do we find Him? The only way to find the Buddha is to brush aside our afflictions so we can clearly see the Buddha within us. However, we are unenlightened beings. Eliminating afflictions is not easy. The Buddha came to the world for one great cause. He continued to use various means to guide sentient beings so that they would all head in the same direction, which is to walk the Bodhisattva-path.

But in the Lotus Sutra, this passage started by talking about how to spread the Buddha-Dharma in this world after the Buddha has entered Parinirvana. The answer is to build pagodas, temples or to sculpt statues. This is because the Buddha knew that when future sentient beings want to [learn] the Buddha-Dharma, they must be looking for something. So, there needs to be an image or a place that can guide them to take joy in creating merits and guide them to give to others. These thing will at least let people know that. “The Buddha was once in this world. There is the Sangha transmitting the Dharma in the world and so on.” This is how the Buddha-Dharma is spread. From these “conditioned phenomena” they can be led to “unconditioned Dharma.” Through appearances, people can be guided to understand the principles.

So as we have already said before,

“[There were] those who, in the barren waste, piled up earth into a Buddha-shrine, Or even children who, at play, have piled up sand to make a stupa. People such as these, have all realized the path to Buddhahood.”

That is what we discussed yesterday. Today, we are looking at the next passage.

“[There were] those who, for the Buddhas, have created images. carving these myriads of marks. They have all realized the path to Buddhahood. Perhaps they used the seven treasures, or bronze, or copper, red and white.”

This section of the sutra states, “[There were] those who, for the Buddhas, have created images.” This is telling us that there were people who had the aspiration to help the Buddha-Dharma spread throughout the world, so it could always abide in this world and forever benefit sentient beings. Therefore, they established all kinds of images to guide sentient beings and inspire them to have reverence and faith.

There were those who wanted the Buddha-Dharma to spread throughout the world, to always abide in this world and forever benefit sentient beings. Therefore they established all kinds of images to inspire respect and faith in sentient beings.

When we see Buddha statues, we know to bow, and we feel respect upon entering temples. This shows the Buddha’s thoughtfulness. So, in the sutras, it is said that those who wanted the Buddha-Dharma to spread throughout the world established all kinds of images to inspire faith and respect in everyone.

A Buddha statue can be carved out of various materials. So, “Carving all kinds of statues, they have all realized the path to Buddhahood.”

Carving all kinds of statues, they have all realized the path to Buddhahood: If those who carve statues and sculpt all kinds of images do so with utmost sincerity and respect and can maintain that mindset forever, they can all realize the path to Buddhahood.

A Buddha statue must be carved by people, whether out of clay, wood, bronze or other kinds of different materials. So, people “carve statues” and sculpt all kinds of Buddha-images. Carving is done with wood and sculpting is done with clay. I often talk about how we sculpt with clay, then make a mold out of it to cast it in bronze. This takes various materials and methods. But regardless of the material we use, we always have to feel utmost respect and reverence as we sculpt.

Nowadays, people who sculpt [Buddha statues] may not necessarily have a lot of faith. They only do it because they want merits. If this is the case, this is not needed. So, we must always have a sense of reverence and respect. This cannot just be a temporary mindset. We must sustain this reverence without regressing. Our attitude cannot be, “I have sculpted and delivered the statue to the temple, so I have created merits” and then lose that mindset, not at all. We must sustain that reverence. Only then can we lead everyone to have faith in the Buddha. Of course, this also brings merits.

“Perhaps they used the seven treasures, or bronze, or copper, red and white.” This means that aside from carving wood or sculpting with clay, people may use the seven treasures, or metallic materials. These metals can be white or red; all are formed by different kinds of metals. As long as [we work with] utmost reverence, it does not matter what kind of materials we use. As long as we have that reverence and express our sense of respect, we can also use the most precious seven treasures. We can make, carve or sculpt out of various materials, whether they are red, white, or any other kinds of metal. These can all help us achieve our merits, as long as we can mindfully bring things together.

Without respect, we cannot understand where the Buddha-Dharma comes from. Now, we are in [the era of] Dharma-decay. The era of Dharma-semblance has already passed, so we are in the era of Dharma-decay. In the evil world of Five Turbidities, how we go from the tangible into the intangible and how we go from appearances into principles is very important. Of course, this takes utmost reverence. We must be like that child, who, at such a young age, was already studying how we come to and leave this life. In conclusion, the law of causes and conditions is truly very profound. So everyone, please always be mindful.

Episode 390 – The Buddha-Dharma is Everywhere

>> “In all of space, the Dharma is everywhere. In the open, our spiritual training ground is in all places. Every thought our minds gives rise to is Dharma. All of our conduct and speech is Dharma.”

>> Pure and glorious adornments decorate the stupas. Others have built temples out of stone, sandalwood, agarwood, hovenia or other timbers, along with bricks, clay and the like.

>> “[There were] those who, in the barren waste, piled up earth into a Buddha-shrine. Or even children who, at play, have piled up sand to make a stupa. People such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.”

>> The Buddha-Dharma has always pervaded the universe and all Dharma-realms. It is in all places and in all times.

>> People such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood: The direct cause is Buddha-nature, which is the supreme meaning. With perfect and wondrous right perspective, we see ultimate reality in skillful means. When we thoroughly realize this principle, we will attain the path to Buddhahood.

“In all of space, the Dharma is everywhere.
In the open, our spiritual training ground is in all places.
Every thought our minds gives rise to is Dharma.
All of our conduct and speech is Dharma.”

This is telling everyone that at any moment in time, the slightest thoughts our minds gives rise to, no matter where we are when they arise, are all closely tied to our spiritual cultivation. This is “unconditioned Dharma.”

If we think that this time and space are not very important, we become careless with our body and mind. We spiritual practitioners need to be dignified in our demeanor. If we do not think that this space or this relationship is very important, we will not carefully maintain the standards of behavior befitting spiritual practitioners. When we allow our Six Roots to wander, we will degenerate; our virtues will degenerate.

In other words, no matter what time it is, where we are and who we are with, we must be very vigilant. We must believe that “the Buddha-Dharma is everywhere.” This means all places are filled with the Dharma, so we can feel it everywhere. That feeling, that realization, is at every moment, in every space and every interpersonal relationship.

For example, during a meeting [in 2013], Allen Yeh was going to talk about. Chinese New Year, how everyone was so reverent, and all the exciting things that happened. But there was not enough time, so we asked him to condense his presentation. He said, “That’s ok. I’ll invite this child to speak to everyone.” With a single click, a child appeared on screen. She is from Long Island in the US. She is very adorable. When she appeared, she said, “Grandmaster, I miss you very much. Do you miss me?”

Look at how adorable she is. She has grown up over the last two, three years. Look at [the difference] in time and space. Traveling from Taiwan to the East Coast of the US, to Long Island, is such a long plane ride! [Years ago] could we have imagined that we could see this child and hear her speak? That with just a click of a button, she would appear? But now, scientific principles [have made this possible].

This is “unconditioned Dharma.” It is not that people today are so brilliant; actually, principles of physics are derived by following this path to discover the principles. When we figure out these methods, we can use various resources in the world and separate and refine them to produce [objects]. Things start out as raw earth, as tin and other minerals. Mountains are destroyed to extract these metals so they can be refined into parts that perform many different functions. From these parts, we create [machines] that are not limited by space and time. These functions are now used by all of us.

Through time, space and interpersonal relationships, each individual attains different knowledge. Thus “conditioned phenomena” are created, which are things we can see. We cannot see the “principles” but we can see the “conditioned phenomena” that result from them. The Dharma that the Buddha taught encompasses the principles of matter, of the human mind and of life. Therefore, “In all of space, the Dharma is everywhere.”

The word “Buddha” means “enlightened [one].” If you focus on understanding only one thing, you may be the only person who knows it that well. You may be very aware of how this one thing works; you may comprehend it, but this is a limited and very focused awakening. This comes from a focused and thorough study of one principle. From this, you may understand how to combine many other materials together to create [the technology] that makes things so convenient for us. Although [technology] makes things convenient and enhances our knowledge, it does not tell us how to grow our wisdom-life.

To grow our wisdom-life, we must understand not just one important thing, but how all the principles and the nature of all things in the universe come together in order for things to work harmoniously. If all of us can thoroughly understand this truth, the Buddha-Dharma can spread widely and this world will be like a pure land.

Achieving this right now is not impossible. It depends on whether all of us, regardless of the space we are in or who we are with, firmly believe that the “Buddha-Dharma is everywhere.” If we believe that our actions and behaviors can be examples that will influence many people, then we have deep faith. We must have deep faith in the Buddha’s teachings.

So, if we believe that. “In the open, our spiritual training ground is in all places,” wherever we go, we can engage in spiritual practice. Every place is a place to spread the Dharma. Everywhere we go, whoever we are with, not only can we protect the land, we can also awaken the love in people.

Take a look at our large group of Bodhisattvas who are spread out over dozens of countries. They already understand [the interaction between] the planet and humanity, that protecting the Earth helps keep humanity safe. For many of them, their mind is where they engage in spiritual practice. Regardless of which country they live in, as long as they see their minds as a place for spiritual practice, and have the deep faith that “the Buddha-Dharma is everywhere,” wherever they are, they can create a place for practicing and transforming others.

In places with a lot of poverty such as Zimbabwe, South Africa and the Philippines, look at how these Bodhisattva[-volunteers] see “the Buddha-Dharma everywhere” and “their spiritual training ground in all places.” So, they transform sentient beings there. This is all because “every thought our minds gives rise to is Dharma.” Indeed, with the arising of every thought, if we have taken the Dharma to heart, every thought will be in accord with the Dharma. Every thought is Dharma. Every thought that stirs is for the sake of Dharma, and every thought we give rise to is about how to be a role model for transforming sentient beings.

All in all, every thought in our minds is Dharma. So, “all of our conduct and speech is Dharma.” This applies to our every move, our every action. Don’t [volunteers] “enter the sutra treasury” through sign language and choreography? So, sign language and choreography can transform people.

Everyone, in learning the Buddha’s teachings, we must exercise utmost reverence and respectfully accept teachings. Then naturally, “the Buddha-Dharma is everywhere” and “our spiritual training ground is in all places.” Everything is Dharma that can enable us to attain Buddhahood. So, we must mindfully experience this.

We previously mentioned that the sutra text discussed how people built stupas and shrines. As we have said, building stupas and shrines was done in ancient times to pay respect to ancestors. So, we must have pure minds to [create] “glorious adornments.” This demonstrates our great respect.

Pure and glorious adornments decorate the stupas. Others have built temples out of stone, sandalwood, agarwood, hovenia or other timbers, along with bricks, clay and the like.

The Buddha said that after He entered Parinirvana, our pure bodies and minds should be these “glorious adornments.” Adornments do not only apply to buildings, but also to our spiritual aspirations, which is more important.

[Temples] were built out of various materials, even “sandalwood, agarwood hovenia or other timbers, along with bricks, clay and the like.” These are all resources and treasures of the land. These timbers are very rare and of good quality. Many used agarwood, cypress, camphor or cow camphor as timber. These are all very precious timbers. When people used such precious timbers, or bricks or clay to build [the shrines], they were expressing their sincerity through [the construction] of the buildings.

“[There were] those who, in the barren waste, piled up earth into a Buddha-shrine. Or even children who, at play, have piled up sand to make a stupa. People such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.”

As we just said, [spiritual training grounds] are “in all places. [Some] piled up earth into a Buddha-shrine.” The Buddhist sutras still use the word “shrine” in “piled up earth into a Buddha-shrine.” We already know about shrines, and up until Emperor Ming of Han Dynasty, a “temple” was where foreign guests were hosted. Then Matanga and Dharmaratna came [to China], carrying the scriptures on white horses. Originally, they were received at Hong Lu Temple, But Hong Lu Temple was the imperial guesthouse for foreign guests. To show respect to the spiritual practitioners from abroad, [the Emperor] especially built for them. White Horse Temple outside the city of Luoyang. This was the first Buddhist temple in China. From then on, we began to call the place where monastics lived, a “temple.” Before then, people still called it a “shrine.” Later on some even called it a “temple-shrine.”

“Or even children at play….” As long as we are very reverent and our minds are free of impurities, we can pile up sand to make a stupa. Then we can sincerely say, “I have built a stupa.” People with such sincerity can successfully walk the path to Buddhahood. This is because they have already given rise to respect from the bottom of their hearts. In the wilderness, they have piled up sand to make a Buddha-shrine.

The Buddha-Dharma has always pervaded the universe and all Dharma-realms. It is in all places and in all times.

We mentioned earlier that in the universe, in every space, we can find the Buddha-Dharma, so it pervades the universe and all Dharma-realms. “It is everywhere.” No place is without it. The Buddha-Dharma is in all places. “It is ever-present.” There has never been one moment when there was no Buddha-Dharma, not at all. It is always with us. Whether we are aware of it or not, the Buddha-Dharma is always there.

Next, [the sutra states], “or even children who, at play….” If there are children with pure, undefiled minds free of improper thoughts, the principles exist in their play as well. So, they “piled up sand to make a stupa.” They did this with sincerity. This is a very famous story in the Buddha’s teachings that has been passed on to the present day, and in recent history these objects have been found. This tale was told in one section of the Legends of King Ashoka.

This story begins with. Sakyamuni Buddha and Ananda going out to ask for alms. They saw two children; one was named Exceptional Virtue and the other was named Unsurpassed One. Exceptional Virtue was the son of a great clan, born into a wealthy family. The other child was his friend.

These two children were playing. What were they playing with? With dirt. They piled up the dirt slowly, building cities [out of dirt]. The city was indeed complete; it even had a storehouse with flour, rice, etc. The Buddha stood at their side watching happily. When the two children sensed that someone was standing next to them, they turned their heads and looked up, “Wow! This is the Buddha, the venerable Buddha.” The two children respectfully put their palms together and bowed to Him reverently. Their pure hearts were filled with respect.

Exceptional Virtue, the noble-born child, held up a handful of dirt from the “storehouse” and reverently placed it in the Buddha’s alms bowl. He said, “I offer this high quality flour to You, the Buddha.” Then he bowed respectfully again. The Buddha smiled, looking at these two children who were so reverent, innocent and pure and had such undefiled and proper thoughts. This made Him very happy.

He asked them, “When you made these offerings, did you wish for anything?” This pure child answered the Buddha’s question by saying, “I made a vow that, if I am a king in my future life, I will lead my people [well]. I will walk the Bodhi-path and spread the Buddha’s teachings. I want to transform sentient beings. I want to be a king, and also spread the Dharma and transform sentient beings.”

He even said to the Buddha, “I also pray that I have a dignified appearance, and blessings and virtues that can benefit all sentient beings.” Thus, he formed such an affinity with the Buddha. This was the aspiration of a child. He was so innocent, pure and reverent. His friend put his palms together and felt joy for him. One child made a declaration [for his future]. The other said a silent prayer for his friend, hoping that he could realize his aspiration. These two were still just children.

The Buddha saw them and was very happy, understanding how innocent and pure they were. Thus He said, “100 years after I enter Parinirvana, 100 years after that moment, this child will become a wheel-turning sage king”

“replete with blessings and virtues.” This king’s name was Ashoka, King Ashoka.

During the Buddha’s lifetime, he was a child and made this aspiration out of reverence. Then he grew up, matured, grew old and passed away decades later. Afterward, he was reborn into a palace. From the beginning, he had wholesome thoughts. Ever since childhood, he could teach and spread the Buddha-Dharma. When he inherited the throne, he led his people and spread the Dharma. This is how he governed with Right Dharma. So, King Ashoka built 84,000 stupas to benefit sentient beings. This is the karmic affinity King Ashoka formed with the Buddha. With the purest mind and intent, he “had realized the path to Buddhahood.” We must all have the same sincerity.

People such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood: The direct cause is Buddha-nature, which is the supreme meaning. With perfect and wondrous right perspective, we see ultimate reality in skillful means. When we thoroughly realize this principle, we will attain the path to Buddhahood.

The direct cause is Buddha-nature, which is the supreme meaning. This is the most important thing, Then we can have wondrous right perspective. Our wisdom must be perfect. Earlier, we mentioned great perfect mirror wisdom, which means our mind must be very bright, pure and undefiled. This is ultimate reality. We can see ultimate reality in skillful means. All of us have the truth of ultimate reality within us. This comes from reverence; with reverent hearts, from “unconditioned Dharma” we can create appearances to expressing our sincerity; this is skillful means. Skillful means [lead us to] ultimate reality. If we can thoroughly realize this principle, we can attain Buddhahood.

Some people ask, “If the Buddha’s principles will always exist, why do I need to engage in spiritual practice?” It is exactly because the principles exist that we must engage in spiritual practice. We follow the spiritual journey manifested by the Buddha in our spiritual practice. This is a road that those before us have walked to reach this destination. We believe that if we follow this road, we will also arrive at the same destination.

In summary, as we learn Buddha’s way, we need deep faith. Only with deep faith can we see that “in all of space, the Dharma is everywhere. In the open, the spiritual training ground is in all places. Every thought our minds gives rise to is Dharma. All of our conduct and speech is Dharma.” This means that we must be very sincere. So, dear Bodhisattvas, to learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must always be mindful.

Episode 389 – Make Offerings with Sincerity

>> “Receive the deep and profound grace of the Buddha-Dharma. It nourishes our minds and grows our wisdom-life. Thus, after the Buddha enters Parinirvana, we sincerely make offerings with all kinds of jewels and treasures.”

>> Pure and glorious adornments decorate the stupas. Others have built temples out of stone, sandalwood, agarwood, hovenia or other timbers, along with bricks, clay and the like.

>> “[They] decorate the stupas. Others have built temples out of stone, sandalwood, agarwood, hovenia or other timbers, along with bricks, clay and the like.”

>> [They] decorate the stupas. Others have built temples out of stone: Truth without tangible appearance is unconditioned Dharma. Wise application of the truth to manifest [principles through] worldly appearances is conditioned phenomena. Such is the building of temples and stupas, and adorning them.

>> Shrines: In olden days, rituals were made to ancestors at these places. There are imperial shrines, ancestral shrines, familial shrines and so on. Places dedicated to gods and Buddhas are commonly known as deities’ shrines or temple shrines.

>> Temples: These were once places for housing foreign guests. In the Han Dynasty, Hung Lu Temple was established to host guests from all over the world.

Each of us always needs to be grateful because it is rare to attain human form, listen to the Dharma and always be immersed in the stream of Dharma. This is why we must always feel grateful that we can.

“Receive the deep and profound grace of the Buddha-Dharma. It nourishes our minds and grows our wisdom-life. Thus, after the Buddha enters Parinirvana, we sincerely make offerings with all kinds of jewels and treasures.”

This is something we can accomplish. We need to feel grateful as we receive the Buddha’s grace and kindness. The Buddha-Dharma is like water; it washes away the defilements from our minds. Therefore, we feel as if we are constantly immersed in the sea of Dharma and are cleansed by the Buddha-Dharma. This is the deep and profound grace of the Buddha-Dharma. We are also constantly nourished by

the Buddha-Dharma that is around us. We must be like the land, receiving nourishment from rain and dew. Our pure intrinsic nature must receive this Dharma-water so we can be constantly cleansed and nourished. Then the seeds in our minds can grow. When seeds receive nourishment, they will grow. This is how the fields of our minds are nurtured so our wisdom-life can develop. Thus, the Buddha-Dharma is like rain and dew.

The Buddha had already attained Buddhahood countless kalpas ago. This means that He saw True Suchness, so how is it possible He did not see [the cycle of] birth, aging, illness and death and become weary of impermanence until this lifetime? That was just the appearance He manifested for us to show us that He is just like us. He lived in the same way we do; He also aged and, in the era He lived in, He experienced various kinds of suffering in life. Amidst suffering, He also saw the impermanence of life. At that time, He manifested for us the appearance of the need to seek out the principle of liberation. He did this to teach us.

After He became enlightened, He promptly taught sentient beings about suffering. He started with the truth of suffering. All His teachings from that time began with the truth of suffering. Then He helped everyone understand that their regular behavior leads to the “causation” [of suffering] through accumulation. After He told everyone that the things they regularly do bring about suffering, that this was the “causation” of suffering, then, to go further, He told them they must practice. He taught them many methods of practice.

Because of sentient beings’ [varying] capabilities, how well they can accept the Dharma depends on their knowledge and wisdom. Thus, He first established these skillful means. However, time waits for no one, including the Buddha. Even He manifested the appearance of old age. As His time was running out, He had to teach [the One Vehicle Dharma]. Ultimately, these skillful means bring us back to ultimate reality, the pure and wondrous Dharma of the One Vehicle. This is how we return to the True Suchness in our intrinsic nature. The Buddha spent many years in this world coming up with ways to teach us sentient beings while living the same kind of life we do. For this, we must always be grateful.

So, after the Buddha entered Parinirvana, sentient beings had to form aspirations and vows. Aspirations and vows come from sincerity; sincerity comes from making a vow. This is faith, vows and practice. Faith, vows and practice are indispensable to spiritual practitioners. And of course, we must be sincere. When we are sincere in our faith, we will make vows.

From the moment the Buddha entered Parinirvana until now, it has been more than 2500 years. Do you remember that there were “5 periods of 500 years”? Let us think about them carefully. While the Buddha was alive, people earnestly engaged in spiritual practice, so Right Dharma abided in this world. But 500 years later, though people still had faith, their diligence had gradually weakened. So, very few people attained realizations through their spiritual cultivation.

In the third period of 500 years, people earnestly listened to the Dharma. They “listened to the Dharma to gain knowledge.” At this stage, they treated the Buddha-Dharma as some knowledge to discuss. When these discussions were popular, did they put it into practice? It seemed fewer were doing so.

The fourth period was about appearances. Whether they built stupas, temples or carved statues, they had the attitude that, “Doing this brings merits, so I want to do this.” This was the fourth period of 500 years.

Next is the fifth period of 500 years. We are now at the end of this 500 year period. Do you know [which this is]? The period of conflict, when people’s hearts are not in harmony. When we lack unity and harmony, not only do we not respect and praise each other, we will actually slander each other. This is the state of the Buddha-Dharma in modern times. In this era, more than ever, we must make vows to return to the way things were in that first period of 500 years. Our minds should still be the same as when the Buddha was in this world, neither greater nor diminished.

When the Buddha first manifested in this world, at that time, He taught that He had much faith in the world, because everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. Though much time has passed, we still have faith in the Dharma that He originally expounded. Thus, in our hearts we should now accept the Dharma as if we were in the time when the Buddha was teaching. So, we should “sincerely [make offerings] after the Buddha enters Parinirvana.” This is very important.

The Dharma is everlasting and unceasing. So, although He manifested the appearance of crossing into extinction, the Dharma that we have accepted is everlasting. We must make vows. Those vows must come from our sincerity. If we can sincerely accept the Buddha-Dharma, then it will be as if the Buddha was still in this world and our minds were still equal to His.

This helps us let go of what is difficult to let go of. Many people in this world live in perpetual turmoil and confusion. They enjoy many comforts. But if we want them to forego those comforts to help others, that will be very difficult, because their bodies and minds cannot let go. People also cling to their wealth and treasures. If we want them to give up what they crave, that will also be difficult. Therefore, the Buddha teaches everyone that sharing the Dharma can enable us to let go of what we crave and desire in order to accomplish meaningful things.

The most meaningful thing we can do is to ensure that the Buddha-Dharma abides in this world forever. Therefore, in this world, we must constantly teach the means that bring about awakening. This is why the sutra mentioned that we must give up jewels and treasures to build stupas, temples and so on. We need to make offerings of these treasures. But let me remind everyone, we must give unconditionally. This is the Dharma we should learn.

Next, we should make offerings with reverence. If we do not make offerings with reverence, we cannot truly attain the Buddha’s teachings. We must make vows out of gratitude. Gratitude and reverence are essential to making vows.

Then, the next passage of the sutra discusses “pure and glorious adornments.”

Pure and glorious adornments decorate the stupas. Others have built temples out of stone, sandalwood, agarwood, hovenia or other timbers, along with bricks, clay and the like.

In “pure and glorious adornments, pure” is referring to the purity of our minds. When our bodies are pure, our bodies and minds will be pure. This purity of mind comes from exercising utmost reverence. Both our internal and external states must give and make offerings out of reverence. This is what we discussed yesterday about “pure and glorious adornments.”

Next, “[they] decorate the stupas.” We have talked about stupas in the past. Sariras are placed in stupas so people can look up to and admire the Buddha for a long time. Buddha-virtues are revealed through stupas. Indeed, another way to describe stupas is [something that reveals virtue]. Only those [structures] made as offerings to the Buddha, Bodhisattvas, Arhats and spiritual practitioners can be called “stupas.”

In fact, the mundane definition for “stupa” is a place where remains are stored. This is what a stupa is in everyday terms. Actually, for those who are truly virtuous, [stupas are used to reveal their virtue]. So, “to decorate” means to adorn. They built tall stupas to reveal virtue.

“[They] decorate the stupas. Others have built temples out of stone, sandalwood, agarwood, hovenia or other timbers, along with bricks, clay and the like.”

Besides building stupas, they also built temples. Temples have existed for a long time. They are built with various materials, such as wood, stone or clay.

Indeed, to “decorate the stupas” or “build temples out of stone,” we must return to the Dharma once again.

[They] decorate the stupas. Others have built temples out of stone: Truth without tangible appearance is unconditioned Dharma. Wise application of the truth to manifest [principles through] worldly appearances is conditioned phenomena. Such is the building of temples and stupas, and adorning them.

The Dharma is the Truth. The wondrous principles of absolute truth are without appearance. I always want everyone to clearly know that truths are everywhere, but they cannot not be seen nor touched. Yet they can be expressed by people. So, “truth without tangible appearance is unconditioned Dharma. Wise application of the truth” is the manifestation of true principles through our knowledge and wisdom.

So we “manifest principles of worldly appearances. [This] is conditioned phenomena.” A space can be completely empty, then we use our knowledge to build something there. The Great Hall we are in is a good example of this. From its underground foundation, we keep building up.

To create this space we are in, how many people’s expertise did we need? We needed all kinds of expertise, in cement mixing, in steel construction and in interior design. So much knowledge and wisdom were combined [to build this place]. This is “conditioned phenomena.” We must build temples, shrines and stupas and adorn them with dignity so everyone knows this is a place to practice the Buddha’s teachings.

We must further understand [the term] “shrines.” In the era of the Buddha, why were they not called “temples” but “shrines”? In olden days, “shrines” were places in ancient China where people performed rituals to their ancestors. These places were memorials for ancestors. They were called familial shrines, or ancestral shrines; the meaning is the same. For a country, there were imperial shrines. They were all built to commemorate ancestors. “As we drink water, we must think of its source.” These places were built to recall and show respect to their ancestors.

Shrines: In olden days, rituals were made to ancestors at these places. There are imperial shrines, ancestral shrines, familial shrines and so on. Places dedicated to gods and Buddhas are commonly known as deities’ shrines or temple shrines.

These places were for making offerings to gods. Over time, these customs were passed on and there came to be many miscellaneous gods, all placed in those temples. There are so many gods we cannot name [them all]. Eventually, places dedicated to the Buddha were also called “shrines.” Indeed, the shrines mentioned in. Buddhist sutras were places of dignity and etiquette. They were places to recall and pay respect to the virtues of the Buddha and ancient sages. Places to remember the virtuous are called “shrines.” This was the meaning of the word at that time.

Places dedicated to gods and Buddhas are called “shrines,” commonly known as deities’ shrines, or temple shrines. Now, [in Chinese] we put the two words, temple and shrine, together and say, “temple shrines.”

“Temples” were once places for a country to house foreign guests.

Temples: These were once places for housing foreign guests. In the Han Dynasty, Hung Lu Temple was established to host guests from all over the world.

The character “temple” is the character for “scholar” on top of the character for “[propriety]. Scholar” plus “[propriety]” means a form of courtesy and law. “Scholar” refers to those with knowledge, people who make policies and rules. It was the place for a country’s officials to make laws and policies. When foreign guests visit, nowadays we take them to a guest house or an executive suite. The principle is the same.

In the tenth year of of Emperor Ming’s reign in Eastern Han Dynasty, Kasyapa-Matanga and Dharmaraksa traveled to China from Madhyadesa, bringing many scriptures on white horses. At that time, Emperor Ming began to seek the Buddha-Dharma, so he treated these foreign monastics as honored guests. To show his respect, he allowed them to stay in Hung Lu Temple. However, this place was for hosting guests, so they could not stay there long-term. Therefore, he built the White Horse Temple. From then on, temples became training grounds for spiritual practitioners. This is an example of how the Buddha-Dharma affects places where it abides. So, monastic temples started arising in China beginning with the White Horse Temple.

Foreigners from the lands in the West called them “sangharama. Sangharama” is often translated as “monastery” and can mean “communal garden.” A place where many people live together is called “sangharama.” The place where they live is also where the. Buddha’s disciples engage in spiritual cultivation and where the seedlings for the Path are planted. Their hearts are like seeds. Practicing together in the monastery is like continuously cultivating the seeds in our minds. This is where we sow and plant the seeds of the Path. When we plant the seeds of the Path, if it sprouts, it will become the seedling for the Noble Path and ripen into a fruit; so a monastery is also like a communal garden.

As we live together in this monastery, this communal garden, we must allow every seed of the Path to sprout. Once it matures, it will ripen into the noble fruit. This takes place in a temple, so we must treat this spiritual training ground as a very holy place. In the past, temples were places where knowledgeable scholars with great propriety established rules of law. Therefore, it is a very holy place. So everyone, we must always be mindful.

Episode 388 – A Pure Heart Brings Dignity

>> Sincerely make offerings of treasure and jewels to show respect, reverence and dignity. The changing scenes in the great, perfect mirror are conditioned phenomena that reveal all kinds of appearances.

>> “After those Buddhas crossed into extinction, those who made offerings to Their sariras built millions of kinds of stupas made of gold, silver, crystal, mother-of-pearl, carnelian, rose quartz, beryl and other gems.”

>> “Pure and glorious adornments decorate the stupas. Others have built temples out of stone, sandalwood, agarwood, hovenia or other timbers, along with bricks, clay and the like.”

>> Pure and glorious adornments: When the body is free of the transgression of evil actions and the mind free of the defilements of afflictions, we will be pure in body and mind. With a pure mind and pure thoughts, we manifest respectful and glorious adornments from our minds for external conditions.

Sincerely make offerings of treasure and jewels
to show respect, reverence and dignity.
The changing scenes in the great, perfect mirror
are conditioned phenomena that reveal all kinds of appearances.

We must be reverent at all times. With reverence, one thought can pervade the great Trichiliocosm. Based on the way we deal with people and things, though no one really knows what we are thinking, they can see whether or not we are sincere.

We must seize every moment to engage in spiritual practice. Through our courteous actions, we make offerings of reverence. For spiritual practitioners in a monastery, the most precious time is the early morning. In the early morning, before miscellaneous things come up, we can be focused on [chanting and] prostrating, expressing our reverence.

However, so many people feel it is too early. They struggle to get up so early in the morning, especially in winter when it is warm under the covers. Getting out of bed at this time of day is very difficult. This is expressing a lack of reverence. I often hear about people who are late to morning or evening recitation. This is indolence. As for those who are hiding under the covers, they will regress. If spiritual practitioners lack sincerity and do not reverently make offerings, how can they be considered spiritual practitioners?

Since ancient times, well-respected and accomplished practitioners have [cultivated themselves] with reverence. They are very earnest and sincere. Making offerings out of sincerity is very important for our spiritual practice. This is [the importance of] reverence.

During our daily interactions with people, we must also feel a sense of reverence. How do we treat other people with reverence? We must be steadfast and not fake. Thus, [we earn] their faith in us. Faith, steadfastness, sincerity and integrity must be part of our character as we deal with people and things. This is how we can set an example for others. This is an example of the way we should be treating each other, not to mention treating Buddhas or Bodhisattvas. This sense of genuine sincerity is the essence of this philosophy.

So, “Sincerely make offerings of treasure and jewels” means we can give up what is hard to give up. Here, “treasure” refers to worldly treasures. There was a very kind woman who was fairly well-off. She often heard that making offerings of worldly treasures brings merit and could be beneficial to her health. Having heard this, she felt she wanted to make this kind of offering. So, she [bought] a tiny piece of incense. It was not a very big piece, yet it cost NT 5 million. With this 5 million piece of incense, she made an offering. This was to show that she could give. Perhaps this offering was made out of blind belief in what other people said. As we make offerings, we must consider whether we are meeting a need. Only then is it considered a true offering.

There is also a group of kind-hearted and wealthy women who have been discussing this. These members of “Friends of Tzu Chi” said, “Once a year we donate things to Tzu Chi for a fundraiser.” These were affluent women who enjoyed collecting jewelry and other precious objects. Now they say, “It is time to let go of one of them. By selling off our collections at the fundraiser, we are supporting good deeds.” Indeed, this is also a way of making offerings. What are they making an offering with? They are making an offering of sincerity to. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

After they accept the teachings of “charitable giving,” when they see how much sentient beings suffer, they give away these precious things and turn them into material goods that can help people who are in need. This is the way they show their sincerity and respect to the Buddha.

The sutra text [reminds] us to always have utmost reverence. Whether we see a Buddha, Bodhisattva, or principled sage as our role model, we need to show respect and make offerings. If we can faithfully accept teachings and put them into practice, we are making offerings. If we are willing to give away our possessions in order to do something more meaningful, that is also a way to make offerings. This is the way we express sincerity and reverence.

Thus, we “show respect, reverence and dignity.” As I mentioned yesterday, soon after the Buddha entered Parinirvana, the Buddha-Dharma flourished for a period of time. People built stupas, temples and golden statues, and all kind of objects to let other people know of this religion, its teachings, essence and ideology.

Look at the Dunhuang Caves in China. Look at Indonesia, [Cambodia’s] Angkor Wat, Sri Lanka and many other countries in. Southeast Asia. These [structures] are evidence that the Buddha was in this world and taught the Dharma. In the caves at Dunhuang, there are numerous “sutra paintings.” The meanings of sutra texts are shaped into stories and then drawn as pictures. These were very popular during the era of Dharma-semblance and are found throughout the entire mountain. They have lasted for thousands of years, yet they are decaying and some have already been vandalized.

Remember what happened years ago (in 1998) to the great Buddha statues in Afghanistan. They had existed for hundreds of years; the entire mountain was covered in Buddha statues. The big ones were huge, over 50 meters. When people stood on the top of a foot, they looked as tiny as ants. That shows how big the statue was.

Although those Buddha statues were carved magnificently and were so massive, they were still destroyed. Everything from their heads and faces, to their bodies, and even their hands naturally deteriorated with the passing of time. They may have also been damaged by natural disasters or through human actions. Then one explosive turned these giant Buddha statues to dust in the blink of an eye.

This is part of our contemporary history. Though these [1500-year-old]. Buddha statues have already been destroyed, they can still bear witness to how the era of Dharma-semblance flourished thousands of years ago. This is formation, existence, decay and disappearance. These appearances are “conditioned phenomena.” Although they are conditioned phenomenon, when the Buddha taught, He still praised the people who create them. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, those who built stupas, temples, statues and so on out of utmost reverence must have made a resolve to “show respect, reverence and dignity.”

As for “the changing scenes in the great perfect mirror,” in fact, the truth is in our minds. [Our mind] is like a mirror. It can clearly reflect all things in the world. However, even the most beautiful scenery will change as time passes and the conditions change. Our surroundings are constantly changing, but this great perfect mirror, our ultimate truth, sees everything with absolute clarity. So, as the environment around the mirror changes, the mirror itself remains unmoved. Isn’t this true?

Everyone, this is the great perfect mirror; we must all cultivate this mirror in our minds and make sure it is clean. The mirror of the Buddha can reflect your reverence. If you want to be reverent, then do not be lax. The Buddha can sense that [reverence]. When you are indolent, the Buddha can sense that, too. By being indolent, you cause harm to yourself. By being dignified and reverent, you help perfect your own spiritual practice. We often talk about role models. Being a role model for others is a way of helping yourself succeed. When seeing you brings other people happiness, that is a sign of your reverence.

Therefore, this mirror can sense all these things without [being affected] by them. It will neither grow nor be diminished, but it can sense everything. Therefore, we must be reverent. These are “conditioned phenomena that reveal all kinds of appearances.” From these “conditioned phenomena” we can see various appearances. So, please be mindful and manifest this sense of dignity as a way to set an example.

Yesterday’s sutra passage stated,

“After those Buddhas crossed into extinction, those who made offerings to Their sariras built millions of kinds of stupas made of gold, silver, crystal, mother-of-pearl, carnelian, rose quartz, beryl and other gems.”

These are all worldly treasures. If people want to benefit others, they will not be attached to those treasures. If they are willing to offer them up to benefit others, that will also bring them merits.

The next sutra passage talks about “pure and glorious adornments.” These people had already offered up all these precious belongings. Their goal was, with the purest mindset, to do something that benefits future generations.

Even if it is Dharma-semblance, it still benefits future generations. Even though they have been constantly damaged, we can imagine how, in that era, those beautiful adornments, statues and so on [revealed] such dignity. These tangible things were magnificently sculpted and decorated; they are truly worthy of our respect.

“Pure and glorious adornments decorate the stupas. Others have built temples out of stone, sandalwood, agarwood, hovenia or other timbers, along with bricks, clay and the like.”

Glorious adornments are made from all kind of materials. For instance, wood is needed for stupas. Stones and other building materials may also be used for different purposes. Temples are built with stones and other materials as well. Buddha statues may be sculpted out of gold, or “sandalwood, agarwood.” These are fragrant types of wood that are of a very high quality. Also used are “bricks, clay and the like.” Perhaps they used bricks. Perhaps they started with a pile of clay. Perhaps they carved it into the mountainside. These are different ways of making statues. “Pure and glorious adornments” [manifest] when we apply a very pure mindset toward building something.

Pure and glorious adornments: When the body is free of the transgression of evil actions and the mind free of the defilements of afflictions, we will be pure in body and mind. With a pure mind and pure thoughts, we manifest respectful and glorious adornments from our minds for external conditions.

When we talk about a pure mindset, we are talking about our bodies and minds. The purity of the body comes from being free of transgressions. Spiritual practitioners must not act inappropriately. If we act inappropriately, we cannot be regarded as spiritual practitioners. Not only will we be looked down upon by others, we will even disrupt the [harmony] in the monastery. Not only will we disrupt the [harmony] of the monastery, but we will also cause harm to the Buddha-Dharma. The [bad] karma we create will be very severe.

Therefore, we must work to cultivate our bodies. This is not about building a golden statue. This is not about using high-quality wood or gold to create something. To truly manifest the body of the Buddha, we must do so through the actions of our bodies. This is how we dignify the Buddha-Dharma. This is what our bodies must be like.

What about our minds? “The mind [must be] free of the defilements of afflictions.” As for our minds, I always say that afflictions are the source of our mental defilements. Once they arise, [we are filled with] greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. For a very long time prior to this, afflictions and defilements have been in our minds. Perhaps our faith has not been deeply rooted. Perhaps we have been proud and arrogant, so after listening to the Dharma for a long time, we think we know everything.

Though the Buddha received Sariputra’s three requests for teachings, when He was finally about to teach, 5000 people left the assembly. The Buddha was sitting on the Dharma-throne. He was about to give the teachings that. He had safeguarded in His mind for over 40 years. Because sentient beings had been incapable of accepting this Great Dharma, the Buddha held on to it and kept it in His mind. Then as He was about to teach it, some people actually stood up, paid their respects and then left. How could that have happened? Because of their afflictions, pride, arrogance and doubt.

Their faith was not deeply rooted. They thought, “I fully understand everything the Buddha has taught.” This is arrogance. “Is there any Dharma better than what I have already learned? Is there?” This is doubt. When our minds are [filled with] afflictions and defilements, our minds are impure. When we engage in spiritual practice, the most important thing is to eliminate these mental afflictions.

“The Dharma is like water; it washes away the mind’s defilements.” As I keep telling you, if we take the Dharma to heart, our heart will be free of defilements and cannot be contaminated. Then it will be like a great, perfect mirror. Even as your mirror reflects life’s ups and downs, and the beautifully scenery fading away, changing cyclically and so on, even as it reflects everything clearly, your mirror remains unaffected. Our diligence and indolence are both vividly reflected in this mirror. Diligent people will advance themselves. Indolent people will regress themselves. However, they will not affect the mirror. So, the Buddha hopes we can be pure, starting with our bodies and minds.

Spiritual practitioners pay particular attention to the mind and body, to the actions of their bodies and the thoughts that arise in their minds. So, our minds must transcend the defilement of afflictions. This brings purity to our minds. We can, “with pure minds and pure thoughts manifest respectful and glorious adornments from our minds for external conditions.”

In our practice of the Dharma, we work “for Buddha’s teachings, for sentient beings.” To help sentient beings realize the Dharma, we must give it respectful and glorious adornments. We need a dignified spiritual practice center. The most important thing at this center is the practitioners’ air of spiritual refinement. That is a “respectful and glorious adornment.” Otherwise even if we build many temples, even if they are very dignified, big and expansive, decorated with silver, gold and so on, if the spiritual practitioners inside have impure bodies and minds, there are no “respectful and glorious adornments.” We must be mindful [to create] “pure and glorious adornments.” When we spiritual practitioners are pure, then our practice center will be pure.

Living in this spiritual practice center, we need to return to the era of the Buddha when people learned the Dharma with a pure mind. When we sincerely engage in spiritual practice, we will attain [realizations]. To have “pure and glorious adornments,” the most important thing to cultivate is our minds. This is why we must always be mindful.

Episode 387 – Make Offerings With Sincerity, Without Conflict

>> “If sentient beings have an admiration for the Buddha’s compassion to change the world, they will pray for the Buddha-Dharma to be ever-abiding. With worldly treasures, they erect images of Him to pay respect and make offerings as an expressions of sincerity and faith. Eventually they will all attain Buddhahood.”

>> “After those Buddhas crossed into extinction, there are those with virtuous and gentle minds. Myriad living beings such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.”

>> “After those Buddhas crossed into Parinirvana, those who made offerings to Their sariras built millions of kinds of stupas made of gold, silver, crystal, mother-of-pearl, carnelian, rose quartz, beryl and other gems.”

>> Sariras: Their bones can look like jewels or flowers. White ones are sariras of bones. Red ones are sariras of blood and flesh. Black ones are sariras of hair. The ones that are mixed color are a combination. These are all sariras.

>> [They] built millions of kinds of stupas: Stupas are one of the Five Solidities. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, the fourth period of 500 years was a period strong in the building of stupas and temples. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, there were five periods of 500 years. Each of those 500 years exemplifies a specific strength and shows the rise and fall of the Buddha-Dharma.

>> The Five Solidities: 1. Solidity of liberation 2. Solidity of precepts and Samadhi 3. Solidity of learning 4. Solidity of stupas and temples 5. Solidity of conflict.

>> 1. Solidity of liberation. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, in the first period of 500 years, many people attained liberation because Right Dharma flourished.

>> 2. Solidity of precepts and Samadhi. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, in the second period of 500 years, even though no one attained liberation, many cultivated precepts and Samadhi.

>> 3. Solidity of learning. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, in the third period of 500 years, true Buddhist practitioners were few in number, but many enjoyed listening to the Buddha-Dharma 4. Solidity of stupas and temples. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, in the fourth period of 500 years, people enjoyed building stupas and temples.

>> 5. Solidity of conflict. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, in the fifth period of 500 years, the Three Flawless Studies, precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, had been forgotten by people in this world. Conflict was how they dealt with things. This was when deviant views thrived.

>> The most precious things in the world are called the Seven Treasures. By letting go of the wealth they are attached to, they express sincerity and joyful giving. Building stupas, creating Buddha images, reverently paying respect and making offerings help show their deepest respects.

As we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must take every matter, object and principle into our hearts. If we take principles to heart, they will be ours forever. If we take principles to heart, whether in the past, present or future, it will all be the same; the principles will be ever-present. So, as time passes by, we must treat everything with reverence.

“If sentient beings have an admiration for the Buddha’s compassion to change the world, they will pray for the Buddha-Dharma to be ever-abiding. With worldly treasures, they erect images of Him to pay respect and make offerings as an expressions of sincerity and faith. Eventually they will all attain Buddhahood.”

This is what I want to share with everyone. We sentient beings, in the past, present and future, should always have this kind of admiration. We must admire the Buddha’s compassion in coming to the world for this one great cause, to teach and transform sentient beings. At all times, we must contemplate and be mindful of the Buddha’s resolve. We must have respect for how the Buddha changes the world out of compassion. This is what we Buddhist practitioners fundamentally need to learn. Then we must form aspirations. Not only must we form aspirations, we must always, with utmost sincerity, pray for the Buddha-Dharma to abide in this world.

How do we help the Buddha-Dharma abide in this world forever? People in this world use all kinds of methods to help everyone in future generations to understand that the Dharma exists in the world. Therefore, they use all kinds of treasures, gold, silver and valuable jewels, to erect statues, buildings and so on for the Buddha. All these things demonstrate the reverence and admiration in their hearts, as well as their wish to pass on the Dharma. This resolve demonstrates their sincerity and faith.

As long as we all have this sense of reverence, everything we do to express it helps us cultivate the path to Buddhahood, to pave that path. However we may be learning the Dharma now, we hope people behind us will follow in our steps and walk forward on this road. Thus, we pave the way for them. So, “They all realized the path to Buddhahood.” The following sutra passage approximately expresses this sentiment.

“After those Buddhas crossed into extinction, there are those with virtuous and gentle minds. Myriad living beings such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.”

After the Buddha crossed into extinction, His disciples took the Dharma to heart and were naturally able to train their minds. No matter what they dealt with, they followed the path. This expression of love and compassion comes from having a gentle mind, or from being wholesome and flexible. Both convey the same meaning. Therefore, “Myriad living beings such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.” If we can be like them, taking the Dharma to heart and manifesting it in our actions, we can definitely attain Buddhahood.

Let us discuss the following passage. Let us be mindful and read it carefully. This sutra passage states,

“After those Buddhas crossed into Parinirvana, those who made offerings to Their sariras built millions of kinds of stupas made of gold, silver, crystal, mother-of-pearl, carnelian, rose quartz, beryl and other gems.”

This passage describes how people used precious objects to make offerings to the Buddha after He entered Parinirvana.

The laws of nature also apply to a Buddha, so He also went through birth, aging, illness and death. Every single Buddha did the same. They physically manifested in this world for the sake of one great cause, that of transforming sentient beings. Upon fulfilling this one great cause, They entered Parinirvana. This happens according to the law of nature.

After Buddhas enter Parinirvana, how can we show our respect to Their sariras? This is what we will discuss next.

The bodies of Buddhas, and not just of Buddhas, but also Bodhisattvas, Arhats, esteemed monks, very virtuous spiritual practitioners, are cremated after they enter Perfect Rest. During cremation, their remains crystallize into sariras. So, “those who make offerings to Their sariras” do so after Buddhas enter Parinirvana.

Sariras: Their bones can look like jewels or flowers. White ones are sariras of bones. Red ones are sariras of blood and flesh. Black ones are sariras of hair. The ones that are mixed color are a combination. These are all sariras.

Sariras may appear after a body is cremated. They look like jewels or flowers. A piece of bone may look like a flower or more like a jewel. These are all considered sariras and are different shapes of bones.

Some are white, turned white by fire. These are sariras of bones. Some are scarlet, very red. The red ones are sariras of blood and flesh. Some are turned black by fire; these are sariras of hair. Some are a mix of colors; they are a combination of the others. These are all sariras, regardless of their colors. After remains are cremated, they may take on all kinds of shapes and colors. These are all sariras.

People feel great respect for the sariras of. Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Arhats. Out of this kind of respect, people “built millions of kinds of stupas.” In order to express their respect, people began to build stupas. The number of stupas built after the Buddha entered Parinirvana is incalculable. Actually, stupas are one of Five Solidities.

[They] built millions of kinds of stupas: Stupas are one of the Five Solidities. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, the fourth period of 500 years was a period strong in the building of stupas and temples. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, there were five periods of 500 years. Each of those 500 years exemplifies a specific strength and shows the rise and fall of the Buddha-Dharma.

After the Buddha enters Parinirvana at the end of His lifetime, there are five periods of time. Over these five periods, the Buddha-Dharma flourishes and diminishes. These five periods last 500 years each; they change every 500 years. So, every 500 years is strong in something.

Building sutras happens in the fourth 500 years. That is the period strong in the building of stupas and temples. This means the construction of stupas flourished 2000 years after the Buddha entered Parinirvana. Five [hundred] times four is [two thousand], so this happened over 2000 years later. From about [1500] years to 2000 years after the Buddha’s Parinirvana was a period when building of stupas flourished.

We often hear about [the caves in] Dunhuang. We have also seen, in Afghanistan, an entire valley filled with Buddha statues. Many stupas were also found in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and so on. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, for every 500 years the Buddha-Dharma was in the world, it would take on different forms. Now, let us develop a better understanding of the five 500-year periods after the Buddha’s Parinirvana.

Each of the 500 years had one “solidity. Solidity” refers to something that is flourishing or is very popular at the time. This [changes] every 500 years.

The Five Solidities: 1. Solidity of liberation 2. Solidity of precepts and Samadhi 3. Solidity of learning 4. Solidity of stupas and temples 5. Solidity of conflict.

These show the rise and fall of Buddha-Dharma. There were periods of flourishing as well as periods of neglect.

The first period is a period of the “solidity of liberation.”

1. Solidity of liberation. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, in the first period of 500 years, many people attained liberation because Right Dharma flourished.

First was a period of the “solidity of liberation.” After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, Right Dharma flourished during the first 500 years, so everybody practiced according to the Buddha’s teachings and many people attained liberation.

The second 500 years was the time of the “solidity of precepts and Samadhi.”

2. Solidity of precepts and Samadhi. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, in the second period of 500 years, even though no one attained liberation, many cultivated precepts and Samadhi.

Many people still followed the Buddha’s teachings by practicing the Three Flawless Studies. They were solid in precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. This was people’s spiritual aspiration during the second period of 500 years after the Buddha’s Parinirvana. Though many people still engaged in this practice, already, fewer people were attaining liberation.

This shows that people’s mentality of engaging in spiritual practice was gradually weakening. Though the practice of the Three Flawless Studies still flourished, people could not attain liberation like during the first 500 years. During the previous 500 years, the majority attained liberation. Now the majority were just practicing percepts, Samadhi [and wisdom]. This happened during the second 500 years.

The third period was “solidity of learning.” For the first and second 500 years, people still put the Dharma into practice, but during the third 500 years, the number of true Buddhist practitioners started to decrease. However, there were still many people who enjoyed listening to the Buddha-Dharma. So, during the third 500 years, listening to the Buddha-Dharma was still popular.

3. Solidity of learning. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, in the third period of 500 years, true Buddhist practitioners were few in number, but many enjoyed listening to the Buddha-Dharma

4. Solidity of stupas and temples. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, in the fourth period of 500 years, people enjoyed building stupas and temples.

The fourth 500 years was “solidity of stupas and temples,” the building of stupas. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, in the fourth period of 500 years, people enjoyed building stupas and temples. Everybody believed building stupas and temples brought them merits. For the sake of [accumulating] merits, people began to build stupas, temples and so on. This happened during the fourth 500 years. However, we no longer saw anyone practicing percepts, Samadhi [and wisdom], nor anyone who enjoyed listening to the Dharma. This was when building stupas and temples was very popular.

This was followed by the fifth 500 years.

5. Solidity of conflict. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, in the fifth period of 500 years, the Three Flawless Studies, precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, had been forgotten by people in this world. Conflict was how they dealt with things. This was when deviant views thrived.

The fifth 500 years is the period we are living in right now. It has been more than 2500 years since the. Buddha entered Parinirvana. This is already the period of the “solidity of conflict.” That means, whether we believe in the Buddha or not, in this world right now, even those who have faith in the Buddha no longer have precepts, Samadhi and wisdom in their minds and have neglected them. Even those genuinely listening to the Dharma just let it go in one ear and out the other; they treat it as ordinary knowledge and not something to put into practice. This is happening right now.

It is the fifth 500 years since the Buddha entered Parinirvana. The Flawless Studies, precepts, Samadhi, wisdom, are already being constantly forgotten by the people of the world. After we read about them, we say, “I know! I have this knowledge.” But we do not take precepts, Samadhi and wisdom to heart, nor do we put them into practice. So, there is only conflict. People want to compete to see who is stronger. The attitude of conflict keeps growing stronger. We are already in the fifth period of 500 years, 2500 years after the Buddha entered Parinirvana. This is the era of Dharma-degeneration. Therefore, we live in an evil world of the Five Turbidities.

This evil world of the Five Turbidities is the time when improper views thrive. Therefore, we are very troubled. However, is feeling troubled useful at all? Since it is useless, what should we do? We must return to Right Dharma. If we seek liberation, we must sincerely engage in spiritual practice. We must practice precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, and mindfully listen to teachings. Then it will be as if the Buddha is still here.

After [an era] of Dharma-semblance, eventually all that is left is building temples and stupas, or various Buddha statues. So, the sutra passage mentions, “those who make offerings to Their sariras.” They built stupas to make offerings to sariras, thus, they “built millions of kinds of stupas.” This is what [the world was like] after the Buddha entered Parinirvana. That was the way of life. Building stupas was their way of saying, “I am very respectful.” What did they use to build stupas? “Gold, silver, crystal, mother-of-pearl, carnelian, rose quartz, beryl and other gems.” They used all kinds of precious objects, which are known as the Seven Treasures. This was their way of letting go of attachments. Building stupas in this way also showed that if we want to transmit the Buddha-Dharma, it is better to give.

However, just giving to others without cultivating wisdom is a pity. “Through this they expressed utmost sincerity.” This is an expression of reverence. Joyfully giving to build stupas, or making offerings to Buddha statues etc. are offerings of reverence that help express the sincerity in people’s hearts. This is something we can all do right now.

The most precious things in the world are called the Seven Treasures. By letting go of the wealth they are attached to, they express sincerity and joyful giving. Building stupas, creating Buddha images, reverently paying respect and making offerings help show their deepest respects.

Dear Bodhisattvas, we are already living over 2500 years after the Buddha’s lifetime. If we have a mindset of creating conflicts, this means the Buddha-Dharma is weakening. The only way to revive the Buddha-Dharma now is through unity, harmony, mutual love and concerted effort. Our wholesome and gentle mindset manifests in our prostrating and making offerings. Those are tangible expressions. If we can be a role model for others and guide sentient beings, then we truly live in a period when the Buddha-Dharma flourishes.

[The Dharma] has been in our hearts through the past, present, and future because it is unconditioned Dharma, the everlasting principles. As long as we are mindful of the Dharma, we will not be influenced by the times, such as the first 500 years, second 500 years, third 500 years and so on. Therefore, our minds can return to the era of the Buddha. This all depends on our minds. So, I continue to remind you to always be mindful.

Episode 386 – Be Gentle and Accommodating

>> The mind is the Buddha. The Buddha in our hearts is never extinguished. Great compassion is gentle like pure water. By exercising both compassion and wisdom, we hold fast to our vows and practice.

>> [Those who] heard the Dharma practiced giving, upholding precepts, patience, Samadhi, wisdom and so on, and cultivated blessings and wisdom. People such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.

>> “After Buddhas crossed into Parinirvana, there are those with virtuous and gentle minds. Myriad living beings such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.” In, “after Buddhas crossed into Parinirvana,”

>> After Buddhas crossed into Parinirvana: “Parinirvana” refers to the extinction of the Three Delusions, delusions of views and thinking, dust-like delusions and delusion of ignorance. To cross is to transcend the two kinds of samsara, fragmentary and transformational. It is the everlasting extinction of great troubles.

>> There are those with virtuous and gentle minds: Those who are gentle will follow the path of upholding the Buddha’s teachings. They faithfully accept them and are flexible, willing and harmonious, not rude and coarse. Thus, they are considered gentle.

>> Myriad living beings such as these: Also known as sentient beings, this is referring to all animals with sentience and consciousness. They arise out of myriad accumulated conditions, so they are called myriad living beings. They also experience myriad births and deaths, so they are called myriad living beings.

>> [They] have realized the path to Buddhahood: A path refers to something that leads somewhere. The Buddha’s wisdom can lead us perfectly and without obstructions, therefore it is called a path. There are three kinds of paths: 1. The path attained by Hearers 2. The path attained by Solitary Realizers 3. The path attained by Buddhas.

The goal of learning the Buddha’s teachings is to attain Buddhahood. To attain Buddhahood, we must first draw near to the Buddha. He is actually not far away from us; He exists in our nature. Therefore, “The mind is the Buddha. The Buddha in our hearts is never extinguished.”

The mind is the Buddha. The Buddha in our hearts is never extinguished. Great compassion is gentle like pure water. By exercising both compassion and wisdom, we hold fast to our vows and practice.

When I prostrate to the Buddha in the morning, after bowing down, as I stand and look up, [behind] the Buddha statue I see the image of a vast and expansive universe filled with twinkling stars. Then suddenly I think of the Buddha-nature within all of us as I bow to the Great Enlightened Buddha.

We all intrinsically have this [Buddha-]nature. We know that the Buddha has said that all of us intrinsically have Buddha-nature. We must believe what He told us and respect our Buddha-nature. If we do not respect our own Buddha-nature, then we are only paying respect to a physical, manmade statue of the Buddha. Isn’t that Buddha statue carved by humans? We have reverence for a manmade Buddha statue but [are we reverent of the Buddha] of our minds? Our Buddha-nature will never be extinguished. Have we manifested our Buddha-mind, our Buddha-nature? Are we using our Buddha-nature to help manifest reverence for external Buddhas?

Everyone, to truly engage in spiritual practice, we have to love ourselves. There is a story about this.

One day, King Prasenajit, after settling his mind, suddenly thought of the Buddha’s teachings on adjusting the mind and loving oneself. What does it mean to love oneself? He contemplated this silently. Does truly loving oneself mean creating positive karma with body, speech and mind? Is this loving oneself? Does creating negative karma with body, speech and mind mean we do not love ourselves? Is that correct? So, he went to ask the Buddha for teachings.

The Buddha smiled, “You’re correct, King Prasenajit, very good. You took my words to heart, so you are asking yourself how to love yourself; this is very praiseworthy. When our body, speech and mind are pure, we speak kind words and do good deeds because the thoughts in our mind are good. With good thoughts in our minds, our words and actions will be wholesome. When we are wholesome, we will be respected and loved by all. This is a way to love ourselves. If our minds are not well-adjusted, if our minds are scattered, everything we say and do will be negative. Then we will be disparaged, rejected and disrespected. This is not the way to love ourselves.” This is the dialogue that took place between the Buddha and King Prasenajit.

This is a very short story, but it inspires us to think about how we spiritual practitioners must constantly reflect on ourselves. Do we really believe we have [a Buddha-nature]? Do we have faith in the Buddha-Dharma, and if so, have we accepted it?

“The Buddha in our hearts is never extinguished.” In the past, before we were born into our lives, we already intrinsically had Buddha-nature. Yet, before each of our lives, what positive or negative [karma] did we create? Did we create a mix of both? We return to this world through our karmic connection with our parents and the causes we created in the past. Because of this “circumstantial retribution,” we come to this world. Because of our “direct retribution,” we can engage in spiritual practice. The workings of karma are truly inconceivable.

Our [Buddha-nature] has always existed. “The Buddha in our hearts is never extinguished.” The Buddha in our hearts is not extinguished at all. Even if in this life, some people still refuse to hear the Dharma, or will not practice it even after hearing it, their Buddha-nature has not been extinguished. They will still bring it into future lifetimes. But in future lifetimes, will they encounter the Buddha-Dharma so easily? We do not know. Although we bring our Buddha-nature with us, lifetime after lifetime, we unceasingly create afflictions. As our [layers of] ignorance grow thicker, our Buddha-nature is buried more deeply and we have fewer opportunities to recognize it.

We can eliminate our ignorance layer by layer. If we spend this life [immersed in] the Buddha-Dharma, listening to the Dharma, practicing the Dharma and adjusting the karma of our body, speech and mind, we can eliminate layers and layers of ignorance. If we cannot attain Buddhahood now, we may still do so in a future lifetime because in this lifetime, we have already eliminated many afflictions and our awakened nature is slowly emerging. We hope, with our present causes and conditions, in future lifetimes, our circumstantial retribution and direct retribution can lead us again to the Dharma. Whether we hear one thing and realize ten, or realize 100, or realize 1000, or hear one thing and attain great realizations, this all depends on whether we can reduce our afflictions and ignorance. If we unceasingly create afflictions, our layers of afflictions will grow thicker. When we bring greed, anger and ignorance with us into our future lifetimes, we will become more and more deluded; that would be a pity. For the Buddha to keep teaching us is also a lot of work for Him.

Therefore, “great compassion is gentle like pure water.” What is great compassion like? It is as gentle like water, which takes the shape of all vessels. When poured into a long vessel, water becomes long. When poured into something square and short, water becomes square and short. In a round vessel, it is round. When our mind is like water, it is in perfect harmony [with all things].

Water takes the shape of its vessel. This describes the harmony of the mind, which comes from perfect awakening. When we awaken, as we are in this environment, we must adapt to the way of life here so we can be free of afflictions and be happy. Only then can we be “gentle like pure water.”

When dealing with the myriads of stubborn and hard-to-train sentient beings, we must look to ourselves, not others; it is our own mind that is stubborn and hard to train. What should we do? We must learn [the Dharma]. When we feel an aversion toward others, we ourselves tend to be the ones causing this feeling of aversion. When we become afflicted by the sight of others, we are the source of our afflictions. Others are not provoking us; we are provoking ourselves. This is because we lack wisdom and are not understanding or accommodating toward others. This is why we are filled with afflictions. Since we aspire to engage in spiritual practice, we must always have compassion for all sentient beings.

They do not know better, so their minds are covered by afflictions. We have to teach them by exercising our wisdom. This is how we transform others by working or practicing alongside them. We must “exercise both compassion and wisdom,” and “hold fast to our vows and practice.” Since we have formed aspirations and vows, we must firmly uphold them. This is the most important method for learning and practicing the Buddha-Dharma.

[Those who] heard the Dharma practiced giving, upholding precepts, patience, Samadhi, wisdom and so on, and cultivated blessings and wisdom. People such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.

The earlier sutra passage stated, “[Those who] heard the Dharma practiced giving.” After we hear the Dharma, we need to apply it. How can we help everyone apply it? We must put it into practice ourselves. With the Dharma we practice, we can exercise both compassion and wisdom to give to others, to teach, inspire and transform others. This is “hearing the Dharma and practicing giving.”

If others have strayed, we must have patience. We ourselves must follow precepts and be patient. We should not speak of other people’s mistakes, or our mistake would be worse than theirs; that would be wrong. As part of our spiritual cultivation, we must focus on our own practice. So, we must uphold precepts and practice patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. Through these kinds of practices, [we attain] blessings and wisdom. As we interact with people, we must train our minds well. Only then are we truly cultivating blessings and wisdom.

So, “People such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.” They are able to practice giving, upholding precepts, ․patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom and constantly create good affinities with others and are of benefit to them. If we are always in perfect harmony with all things, we have wisdom. People who can do this “have all realized the path to Buddhahood.” This is how we attain Buddhahood. To walk the Bodhi-path without deviating at all, we must always be mindful.

The next sutra passage states,

“After Buddhas crossed into Parinirvana, there are those with virtuous and gentle minds. Myriad living beings such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.” In, “after Buddhas crossed into Parinirvana,”

“Parinirvana” refers to the extinction of the delusion of views and thinking, dust-like delusions and delusions of ignorance.

After Buddhas crossed into Parinirvana: “Parinirvana” refers to the extinction of the Three Delusions, delusions of views and thinking, dust-like delusions and delusion of ignorance. To cross is to transcend the two kinds of samsara, fragmentary and transformational. It is the everlasting extinction of great troubles.

“Delusions” are afflictions. Afflictions and ignorance arise from views, understanding, and thinking. Our understanding and thinking give rise to dust-like ignorance. This is why we are suffering, why we create karma, why we accumulate many negative [causes] that cause our wholesome thoughts to be constantly buried underneath negative thoughts. Thus our wholesome thoughts lose this tug of war and negative thoughts win. Following the same principle, in our own minds, the delusions of views and thinking, dust-like delusions and delusions of ignorance are endlessly multiplying. The Buddha comes to teach us about the cessation of suffering along with the truth of suffering and its causation. Its causation is the accumulation of many dust-like ignorance and afflictions. Now we must bring these to cessation. If we want to eliminate afflictions, we must begin with our perspective and thinking.

“Crossing” is to transcend both fragmentary and transformational samsara. I have discussed this in the past. Ordinary people go through “fragmentary samsara.” Arhats and Solitary Realizers go through “transformational samsara.” Thus we ourselves must quickly transcend and [transform] how we come to and leave this life. We must not go down the wrong path. This is what we must start doing right now. If we find it hard to end our fragmentary samsara, how can we discuss transformational samsara?

The arising of the slightest thought [traps us] in “transformational samsara.” This arising of subtle thoughts still occurs in the minds of Pratyekabuddhas. So, we must learn to eliminate them. But to really eliminate them is not easy. If we can eliminate them, “it is the everlasting extinction of great troubles.”

So, “those with virtuous and gentle minds” means that people’s minds must be gentle and follow the path.

There are those with virtuous and gentle minds: Those who are gentle will follow the path of upholding the Buddha’s teachings. They faithfully accept them and are flexible, willing and harmonious, not rude and coarse. Thus, they are considered gentle.

Since we have aspired and vowed to walk the path to enlightenment, as we walk the Bodhi-path, which is clearly a direct path, we must follow it carefully and upholding the Buddha’s teachings. We must continue to move forward. As we advance through our environment, we must have virtuous and gentle minds.

We must be like water poured through a small hole into a square vessel. Water is poured through a small, round hole, yet it will take on the full square shape. It can actually take on any shape. As long as our minds are gentle, we can be in perfect harmony with anything. This is what the Buddha teaches us. As we deal with many stubborn sentient beings, how can we train our own minds, as well as the minds of others? Doing this requires gentleness.

Our minds must be gentle, and we must get along with others as we follow the teachings of the Dharma. “Upholding the Buddha’s teachings” [means we] follow the Buddha and draw near to the Dharma. In order to do this, we must accept the teachings. So, we must be “flexible, willing and harmonious, not rude and coarse.” Our mind has to be very gentle, so flexible that it becomes very willing. We constantly ask, “Are you willing?” If we willingly do something, we happily accept what happens. If we are not willing, we will be rude and coarse. We must be willing to be in harmony with people. We must not be rude and coarse. This is known as being flexible. If we are rude and coarse, then we are making our own life difficult, and making things difficult for others as well. This fills our minds with afflictions. Thus, we have to be flexible and gentle. Then other people will find us pleasing and be happy to see us. If we find a way to perfectly accomplish something that is not easy, then we will be very happy too.

So, “myriad living beings such as these” refers to sentient beings, as I have previously said.

Myriad living beings such as these: Also known as sentient beings, this is referring to all animals with sentience and consciousness. They arise out of myriad accumulated conditions, so they are called myriad living beings. They also experience myriad births and deaths, so they are called myriad living beings.

All animals have sentience and consciousness. We humans are also animals. We have life and we can move, so we are also considered animals. However, we are labeled “human.” A pig is an animal and is labeled “pig.” A dog is an animal and is labeled “dog.” A worm is an animal and is labeled “worm.” If we try to catch any animal, or try to drive it away, it will struggle. If we catch it, it will keep struggling because it has sentience and consciousness. It has feelings, which is a form of sentience and consciousness. So, we should know that myriad living beings are alive.

“They arise out of myriad conditions accumulating.” Why were we reborn as humans? Because in the past, we created these causes and and formed these conditions. Our past and present causes and conditions have converged, thus our parents gave birth to us and we can now live in these surroundings. There are all kinds of life in this world; they are all considered myriad living beings.

All the myriad living beings have the potential of attaining Buddhahood. So, we say they “have all realized the path to Buddhahood.” They can draw near the Buddha-Dharma to feel this. Previously I have told the story of how, while sutras were being aired outside a cow came by and sniffed at the Diamond Sutra a bit. She will also be able to attain Buddhahood. Just by smelling the Buddha-Dharma, she will also be able to attain Buddhahood.

The sutras contain many stories like this. They “have all realized the path to Buddhahood.” A path is something that leads somewhere. If it can take us somewhere, it is a principle; if it goes nowhere, it is not a principle.

[They] have realized the path to Buddhahood: A path refers to something that leads somewhere. The Buddha’s wisdom can lead us perfectly and without obstructions, therefore it is called a path. There are three kinds of paths: 1. The path attained by Hearers 2. The path attained by Solitary Realizers 3. The path attained by Buddhas.

“The Buddha’s wisdom can lead us perfectly” and there is nothing obstructing it, “therefore it is called a path.”

There are three kinds of “paths,” the path attained by Hearers, the path attained by Solitary Realizers and the path attained by Great Enlightened Buddhas. So, to learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must be on the Bodhi-path. Whether we are Hearers, Solitary Realizers or Buddhas, we are all on this path to enlightenment. Small Vehicle practitioners, the Hearers, will take the small side roads. If their minds are not straightforward, if they are not on the right road and their spiritual aspirations are not yet firm, it will be easy for them to go astray.

“There are those with virtuous and gentle minds. Myriad living beings such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.” The Buddha has always given us this blessing. As long as our minds are wholesome and gentle, we can all attain Buddhahood. The Buddha has always given us His blessing, so we must promptly accept it. After accepting it, we must put the teachings into practice. So everyone, please always be mindful.

Episode 385 – Diligence, Samadhi, Compassion and Wisdom

>> Flourishing Buddha-Dharma can help and transform sentient beings across mountains, streams, foreign lands, all places under the same sun, moon and sky. We place our hope in Buddhist practitioners to create connections with the Buddha-Dharma.

>> [Those who] heard the Dharma practiced giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi, wisdom and so on, and cultivated blessings and wisdom. People such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.

>> Diligence, Samadhi, wisdom and so on: Those who are focused are not scattered. Those who advance will not regress. With a straightforward mind, they walk the path and diligently practice Right Dharma. They do all good deeds and are never indolent. This is diligence.

>> Samadhi and wisdom are the “cultivation of contemplation,” also called “meditative contemplation.” In the form realm, this is a way to bring stillness to the mind. Through “meditative contemplation,” the mind abides in one state and ponders wondrous principles.

>> [They] cultivated blessings and wisdom: Blessings are blessed virtues, which are five of the Six Perfections, giving, upholding precepts, diligence, patience and Samadhi. Wisdom is prajna, which is one of the Six Perfections.

>> The first five practices help us manifest wisdom. Wisdom directs the other practices, such as giving. They are like the eyes and feet, which cannot do without each another. With dignified great wisdom, we have the great compassion to fulfill great vows.

>> When we relieve others’ suffering, we achieve the meaning of the true principles. When we are dignified by blessed virtues, we have the great compassion to fulfill vows and help others achieve the joy of blessings. This is how, with blessings and wisdom, we are replete with compassion and wisdom.

In learning the Buddha’s teachings, we awaken ourselves and others and we transform ourselves and others. As Buddhist practitioners, these are part of our fundamental duties. We are not just liberating ourselves from afflictions or just opening our own minds. I often say that I pray for harmony in society. If only a few people have open minds and are on the right course while most people are not, how can our society be harmonious? So, if we want there to be harmony in society, we must continue to transmit the Buddha-Dharma. When everyone is on the same course, we can all train our bodies and minds together.

Flourishing Buddha-Dharma can help and transform sentient beings across mountains, streams, foreign lands, all places under the same sun, moon and sky. We place our hope in Buddhist practitioners to create connections with the Buddha-Dharma.

“Flourishing Buddha-Dharma can help and transform sentient beings.” If the Buddha-Dharma thrives in this world, we can all work together to help transform sentient beings. Sentient beings experience all kinds of suffering. Each person has his own anxieties. Each person has his own desires. Each person has his own feelings of helplessness. There are so many kinds that they cannot be clearly explained. They are all truly suffering.

How do we transform sentient beings? Actually, this world is so vast it includes “mountains, streams, foreign lands, all places under the same sun, moon and sky.” There are mountains, rivers and seas, and there are people living in all these places. Wherever there are people, the Buddha-Dharma can be spread. So, everything under this same vast sky, in the same solar system and beneath the same sun and moon, is considered our macrocosm. The Dharma must [pervade] this macrocosm.

In this space and in our interactions with others, we teach [the Dharma] to inspire one another. We place our hope in Buddhist practitioners, because saving the world and people’s minds truly requires much learning and awakening. We must learn to free ourselves from the ups and downs of life, eliminate our karma and afflictions and earnestly try to realize and experience the truth of suffering as taught by the Buddha. How do we inspire wholesome thoughts so that everyone will be good?

To balance the four elements in the macrocosm, we must go among people and continuously transmit the Buddha-Dharma we have learned by putting it into practice. Only by knowing the original “cause” of suffering will we have the means to bring the world’s various disasters to “cessation.” Thus we need to practice “the Path”

and try to feel their suffering as our own. “When others are hurt, I am in pain. When others suffer, I am saddened.” Then we are truly Buddhist practitioners who transmit the Dharma. We must “place our hope in Buddhist practitioners” to apply what they learn and realize all kinds of [truths] about this world. These people are Buddhist practitioners who

“create connections with the Buddha-Dharma.” So, we definitely must be mindful. Only when the Buddha-Dharma flourishes can we help and transform sentient beings; we must all work together to transform sentient beings.

[Those who] heard the Dharma practiced giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi, wisdom and so on, and cultivated blessings and wisdom. People such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.

We discussed the beginning of this passage yesterday. “[Those who] heard the Dharma practiced giving.” After listening to the Dharma, we must then teach it to others. After we listen, we take it in and digest it, then we can use it to see the principles in all things. If we apply the Dharma we hear to dealing with people, matters, objects and principles and enter into a dialogue with the land, the Dharma will be everywhere. After we take the Dharma to heart, we can apply it at all times to create karmic affinities and to practice giving. This is most important in learning the Buddha’s teachings.

So, having heard the Dharma, we must also practice giving, upholding precepts and patience. Didn’t we discuss this yesterday? We must practice patience. If someone deliberately and unreasonably tries to disturb us, for people like this, we must forgive them with an expansive heart and not take issue with them. Not only should we not take issue with them, we should try to teach them.

In this world, many things can lead us to feeling dissatisfied. People often say, “Eight or nine things out of ten do not go our way.” When something does not go as we wish, if we cannot patiently remain at peace, afflictions will constantly arise and cease, sink and surface, in our minds. After making an aspiration, external [challenges] may obstruct our spiritual aspiration. Our will to diligently practice will quickly be affected by our environment and [may disappear]. So, we must first learn to patiently remain at peace.

To be patient, we must uphold precepts. If we want to be in Samadhi, but lack precepts, we cannot remain peaceful and unmoving. Of course, learning the Buddha’s teachings requires diligence. Having diligence is very important, but how can we develop this diligence? Through Samadhi and wisdom. Diligence, Samadhi and wisdom are all mental skills we must master.

Diligence, Samadhi, wisdom and so on: Those who are focused are not scattered. Those who advance will not regress. With a straightforward mind, they walk the path and diligently practice Right Dharma. They do all good deeds and are never indolent. This is diligence.

Free of discursive thoughts, we can concentrate on our resolve. This is being “focused.” To “advance,” we must move forward in a precise direction. If we do not move forward, we will stand still forever. If we remain standing still, we are being indolent and will degenerate. As time continues to pass, our time in this world continues to grow shorter. From middle age, we quickly enter old age. Therefore, we must advance without regressing.

We must advance on the path with a straightforward mind. Then, as we often say, “the great Bodhi-path is direct.” Indeed, if we have a straightforward Bodhi-mind, the path to enlightenment will be direct. After we verify that our course is direct, we must diligently cultivate Right Dharma and do all good deeds. So, we must exercise a diligent and straightforward mind in our spiritual cultivation. Our spiritual training is walking the Bodhisattva-path.

Before Samadhi comes diligence. Samadhi is a state of contemplation.

Samadhi and wisdom are the “cultivation of contemplation,” also called “meditative contemplation.” In the form realm, this is a way to bring stillness to the mind. Through “meditative contemplation,” the mind abides in one state and ponders wondrous principles.

To contemplate is to think about something thoroughly. So, “meditation” is not the same as not thinking, because “all things are empty.” What does it mean for all things to be empty? This requires focused contemplation to understand.

The modern translation [for Samadhi] is “meditative contemplation,” which is more than just “contemplation.” The old translation is “cultivation of contemplation.” We must practice our contemplation. Take listening to the Dharma for example. The Buddha gave certain teachings, but since the times have changed, the Dharma now has to be applied [differently]. People now have different kinds of afflictions, which must be treated with different kinds of teachings. This requires the “cultivation of contemplation,” which is applying what we learn. Now, some people call this “meditative contemplation.” Our minds must be still as we thoroughly consider our course in life.

Whether we engage in “cultivation of contemplation” or “meditative contemplation,” these are the practices for cultivating Samadhi in our minds.

“Form” refers to things we can see. In the form realm, we look at things with desire. If we engage in spiritual practice, we will consider whether material things are necessary for sustaining our lives. Do we really need these things to live? We do not. Do we really need these things to live? We do not. Do we only think, “I want it”? Is this all we can think of? If that is the case, when we see something tangible, we must realize that we are living in the form realm and must find a way to keep afflictions from arising from the desire for material enjoyment. We must deeply contemplate how to [apply teachings] in our lives so we can be free of worries and afflictions. This requires wisdom, “Samadhi and wisdom,”

which is using the cultivation of contemplation and meditative contemplation to look at this material world. Then we will not be tempted by these desires to break the boundaries [of what is acceptable]. This is the function of meditative contemplation. We need to contemplate this carefully, in order not to allow our minds to continually be tempted by material objects. This is a way to bring stillness to our minds in the form realm. This teaches us to bring our minds into Samadhi as we interact with all kinds of material objects.

“Meditative contemplation” is when “the mind abides in one state and ponders wondrous principles.” When we are not tempted by external phenomena, we can stop desiring all kinds of material objects and rein in our minds. Then we can focus our minds into one state. When we can rein in our minds, we can contemplate in a state of stillness. To “ponder” means to be quiet, to be free of all interferences so we can quietly, silently and thoroughly contemplate these wondrous principles.

We also often say that every object is simply a temporary union. I often say that a flower or a blade of grass both come from seeds, but their seeds are different. Different seeds are causes of different temporary unions. We need the causes of temporary unions to converge with the conditions of temporary unions in order for the seeds to grow. These are the wondrous principles of things with forms and appearances. If we can comprehend this, we will not be troubled by these forms and appearances. So, we must thoroughly comprehend this principle.

As for “cultivating blessings and wisdom,” the sutra text mentions, [people uphold] “diligence, Samadhi, wisdom and so on, and cultivated blessings and wisdom.” When it comes to all objects with form, all material objects, if we can comprehend their principles, we will understand how to utilize them. If we greedily cling to them, we create karma. When we greedily cling to our desire for them, of course we will create karma. If we can thoroughly understand forms, appearances and material objects, we can create blessings.

[They] cultivated blessings and wisdom: Blessings are blessed virtues, which are five of the Six Perfections, giving, upholding precepts, diligence, patience and Samadhi. Wisdom is prajna, which is one of the Six Perfections.

Blessings are blessed virtues. How do we use [material] things to create blessings? Through the practice of giving, of course. So, when we create blessings, we create virtues. Those who create blessings are virtuous and practice giving. Virtue comes from giving, upholding precepts, diligence, patience and Samadhi. These are five ways to “cultivate blessings and wisdom.”

When we have equanimity, we will be able to give. Greed leads us to create karma. Once we understand the function of material objects, we can use them to cultivate blessings and wisdom.

As we practice giving, we must also uphold precepts. When material objects pass through our hands, will we give them away with a pure mind or will we be greedy? We must uphold precepts carefully. We must also diligently advance; “as one foot steps forward, the other must let go.” When we accomplish something successfully, we will feel happy.

Take the winter relief distributions [in 2012], for example. In several locations in China, we have completed winter relief distributions. Hundreds of thousands of people now have thick blankets for the winter. As snow falls and nothing grows, they will have rice, oil and salt to sustain their lives.

After the volunteers completed their mission of giving to others, they happily returned.

For the poor and suffering to have supplies to sustain their lives during the winter, the volunteers happily and willingly went to help. Knowing that people had what they needed to survive, when they were done, they happily returned. They seek nothing in return. This is considered diligence.

In learning the Dharma, we must resolve to keep doing the right thing. “As one foot steps forward, the other must let go.” When the teams return home, they feel at ease. They feel relaxed and peaceful because the poor and suffering people were helped. Bodhisattvas’ minds are peaceful and at ease; this is also diligence.

So, Samadhi, as I just mentioned, comes after we thoroughly understand all the principles of material objects. Once we know how to utilize them in this world, we will not greedily cling to them. This is a state of Samadhi.

After Samadhi comes wisdom. Wisdom is considered prajna. Prajna, or wisdom, is one of the Perfections. Actually, it is because we have wisdom that we engage in spiritual cultivation. Our spiritual cultivation leads us to practice giving, upholding precepts, patience and so on. Likewise, to develop the first five practices, we must rely on [the sixth], wisdom, to guide us in the right direction. This is the function of wisdom. Thus, wisdom will guide us toward the right course of spiritual practice. So, the first five practices will help us manifest wisdom. Everything we do comes back to our wisdom. Therefore, “wisdom directs the other practices, such as giving.”

The first five practices help us manifest wisdom. Wisdom directs the other practices, such as giving. They are like the eyes and feet, which cannot do without each another. With dignified great wisdom, we have the great compassion to fulfill great vows.

Wisdom is impartial; it guides everyone to [practice] giving, upholding precepts, patience and Samadhi. These all come from wisdom. These first five practices help manifest wisdom. In other words, those first practices come from wisdom and wisdom leads us back to True Dharma.

“They are like the eyes and feet.” Though we have wisdom, if we do not cultivate the first five practices and just think about them, that is useless. We often say that the Dharma is to be practiced. So, “They are like the eyes and feet.” The eyes can see [the path] very clearly, but if we do not walk it with our feet, then our bodies and minds cannot enter the Dharma. We cannot just look; we must walk. If we walk but cannot see clearly, that is also very dangerous. We put the first five into practice, and the last, wisdom, will guide us.

So, “With dignified great wisdom, we have the great compassion to fulfill great vows.” With “great compassion to fulfill great vows” we will relieve people’s suffering. Then “we achieve the meaning of true principles.” The principles can help us reach the [destination] we are going toward. So, “dignified by great wisdom,” we will have the great compassion to fulfill vows.

When we relieve others’ suffering, we achieve the meaning of the true principles. When we are dignified by blessed virtues, we have the great compassion to fulfill vows and help others achieve the joy of blessings. This is how, with blessings and wisdom, we are replete with compassion and wisdom.

To be dignified by blessed virtues, we must have perfect wisdom.

Dear Bodhisattvas, we must learn the Buddha’s teachings completely. We must piece all the teachings together, just like having eyes and feet. If we can see something, we can reach it. [The Buddha-Dharma contains] many subtle and intricate [teachings]. So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 384 – Cultivate Blessings, Plant Right Causes

>> The Four Noble Truths, Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence and the Six Perfections are used to transform sentient beings. We must uphold precepts and cultivate blessed conditions to plant wholesome causes and conditions.

>> The Four Noble Truths, Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence and the Six Perfections help transform sentient beings. We must uphold precepts and cultivate blessed conditions to plant wholesome causes and conditions.

>> “Those who heard the Dharma practiced giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi, wisdom and so on, and cultivated blessings and wisdom. People such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.”

>> Those who heard the Dharma practiced giving: Sentient beings who can listen to the Dharma and give rise to right faith will think about the meaning behind it and practice according to the teaching. They will listen to the Dharma and then teach it to other sentient beings.

>> [Practice] upholding precepts, patience: Those constantly mindful of precepts will remember and uphold them, not forget them and not commit evils. This is upholding precepts.

>> When people encounter things that go against principles and are disturbing to them, if they can be broad-minded and forgiving, remain at peace and be unmoving, they have patience.

>> Those who are focused are not scattered. Those who advance will not regress. With a straightforward mind, they walk the Path and diligently practice Right Dharma. They do all good deeds and are never indolent. This is diligence.

The Four Noble Truths, Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence
and the Six Perfections are used to transform sentient beings.
We must uphold precepts and cultivate blessed conditions
to plant wholesome causes and conditions.

As we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must apply them to our daily living. If we take good care of our minds, with every good thought we accumulate blessings. When the mind strays, it brings about boundless suffering. Where does suffering actually come from? The Buddha spoke of “suffering, causation, cessation and the Path.” These are the Four Noble Truths. They are the foundation of our spiritual practice.

So, we must carefully analyze the few decades of our lives to see how many wholesome and unwholesome things we have done in the past, how many thoughts of joy, anger, sorrow and happiness and so on we have given rise to. If we analyze this further, we see the “causation” of suffering is the accumulation of [these causes] throughout our lifetimes.

Things that cause suffering do not only exist in our minds. The global climate is not in balance. Over the course of a year, this will result in many worrisome things occurring. When there is no rain for a month, we begin to worry about vegetable beds drying up or the people lacking water for their use. The news media begins to speculate on a drought. If two months pass [without rain], we look up at the sky and ask, “Are there clouds? Will it rain?” We long for rain. Perhaps it may rain every day for a whole year. Without sun, the roots of the crops in the ground will keep deteriorating and the seed itself will rot and so on. If there is no sunlight, farmers will be very worried.

Indeed, if this period of [heavy rain] is prolonged, the price of food will rise, increasing the burden of those who live in difficulties. If the climate is imbalanced for even longer, harvests will be lost and everyone in the world will worry. [Now, the weather is extreme] in all four seasons. Those in the freezing cold lead very hard lives, especially those in remote areas. Their buildings are so primitive, how could they live through even one winter day? Every day, we can see imbalances in the world.

If we quickly analyze the joy, anger, sorrow and happiness we experience in our daily living, we may find that there are not many things that truly make us happy. Moreover, there is meaningful happiness and there is happiness from meaningless things. This is something we must discern. Are any of us this mindful?

The Four Noble Truths start with suffering and its causation, which is accumulated in daily living with our every thought and action. This applies to everyone in this world. The Buddha taught this. If we understand it, we will reflect on ourselves and think about ways to eliminate our suffering and to gradually alleviate the state of extreme imbalance that the climate is currently in and help it [return to normal]. Although people all over the world are becoming aware of this, there is nothing they can do other than call attention to it.

Haven’t we talked about how [in 2012], people in England celebrated the Christmas holiday by buying many things? Consider just the food. In just one day, almost two million turkeys were thrown away as kitchen waste. Over ten million pies were also thrown away. In short, the amount of food wasted alone on this holiday was a huge quantity.

If only, instead of wasting these things, they use these resources to help the unemployed who are leading difficult lives. In this kind of cold and freezing weather, many people are starving or freezing to death. Instead of wasting these things, they can give fresh, warm and filling food to help other people in England. Wouldn’t this be a wonderful thing to do? This is just one holiday and celebrating it only brings momentary happiness. And is this happiness actually meaningful or not? Though there is global awareness of this [waste] and the [government] is also aware of this, can they implement policies to stop this waste? They cannot.

The same things happen in Taiwan. Right now everyone is planning to celebrate the holidays with firework displays. This pollutes the environment and is also wasteful. But is there a way to stop the fireworks? It is so wasteful, and everyone knows [it is wrong], but nothing can be done.

This is a clear example of how confused people in this world are. So, the Buddha taught us to clearly understand the “causation” of suffering accumulated in this world. Our collective karma is manifesting in this era.

We must awaken in order to achieve “cessation.” To achieve “cessation” [of suffering], we must know how it comes about. Do we know? If we know this and promptly awaken, we will stop [our current actions] and stop creating karma. If people are wasteful, we must remind them to be frugal, and take what they save to give to people in need. This is the best way. If we want people to give, we do not force them; we need to teach them to happily give with equanimity. This is the Buddha’s teachings to us. It certainly contains principles which we can then share with others. Thus, [if everyone understands] “suffering, causation, cessation and the Path” and can walk on this road, the path to awakening which is the Bodhi-path, then this world can be saved.

The Four Noble Truths, Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence and the Six Perfections help transform sentient beings. We must uphold precepts and cultivate blessed conditions to plant wholesome causes and conditions.

These are the Four Noble Truths. The Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence also allows us to understand that in our lives, we must not take issue over or complain about so many things because they result from the karmic conditions we have created ourselves. If what we have created is evil, it may affect the better family we were born into. Or perhaps we may be born with ignorance, afflictions and disobedience etc. These are all direct retributions, which come from direct causes.

We may be born into a negative environment, with parents limited by physical or mental hindrances, or we may be born into a family with much poverty and suffering. But as long as we bring wholesome and blessed direct causes with us, if we work hard we can become one of the wealthiest people in the world. For some people, “wealth does not last beyond three generations.” This depends on whether their next generation, when entering this familial environment, bring blessed and wholesome karma with them. If so, the family enterprise will continue to develop. Otherwise, it will be subject to the impermanence of life and fragility of countries.

So, the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence are taught specifically to help us realize that we need not complain or take issue over things, but we do need to take good care of our minds. Then we must earnestly “practice the Six Perfections to transform sentient beings” through giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. By “practicing the Six Perfections to transform sentient beings,” we “uphold precepts and cultivate blessed conditions.” We must carefully abide by the rules for being a good person. Besides practicing giving, we also must also uphold precepts and plant various wholesome causes and conditions.

This is what the Buddha has taught us. As I mentioned before, He used various skillful means and accorded sentient beings’ capabilities to devise [suitable] teachings. He actually only wanted to speak of the supreme meaning, which is the unsurpassed, ultimate true principle. This is what we discussed yesterday.

If there were sentient beings who could encounter the Buddha, they must have had the right karmic connections and roots of goodness. They must have more or less planted some wholesome causes. So, the next passage of the sutra states,

“Those who heard the Dharma practiced giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi, wisdom and so on, and cultivated blessings and wisdom. People such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.”

If we had the karmic condition to hear the Dharma in the past, once we listened to the Dharma, we would know to practice giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. This is because in our past lives, we had the blessed karma to encounter the Buddha-Dharma. For us to become human in this lifetime, we must also have had the causes and conditions to continue to listen to the Dharma, People who uphold rules and precepts, and cultivate blessings have “cultivated blessings and wisdom. People such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.” We can definitely realize the path to Buddhahood.

Let us examine this next line, “Those who heard the Dharma practiced giving.”

Those who heard the Dharma practiced giving: Sentient beings who can listen to the Dharma and give rise to right faith will think about the meaning behind it and practice according to the teaching. They will listen to the Dharma and then teach it to other sentient beings.

“Those who heard the Dharma practiced giving.” This means that if we sentient beings can listen or have listened to the Buddha-Dharma, we can give rise to right faith. We must listen, contemplate and practice. After we listen to the Dharma, we must contemplate it carefully.

“Suffering, causation, cessation and the Path,” which we just mentioned, are not that easy [to understand]. We must think about where suffering comes from. It is caused by accumulation. So, we must think about how “causation” happens. In our daily living, how can we accumulate so many causes in the the ever-changing and impermanent world that we end up affecting all things? What is the force we are accumulating? After understanding it, we must promptly cultivate ourselves. We should not just stop at knowing it. The whole world knows extreme climate change is caused by the way people live their lives and the pollution from industrialization. We know all about this, but may not do anything. This is when we must practice “cessation.” We must cease these inappropriate behaviors, but that is very difficult. The difficulties in the world around us come from the difficulties in people’s minds.

Rather than hoping for our greater environment to change, let us change our own surroundings and state of mind. If we can change our own state of mind, our greater environment will naturally improve. But can small changes in the environment be effective? No. This is why the Buddha wants everyone to understand [His teachings]. So, we must widely spread the Buddha-Dharma all over the world.

“Those who heard the Dharma practiced giving.” After listening to the Dharma, we should give and let go of our greed and indulgences. We must even become frugal in our daily living so that we can practice giving and help all those who are suffering in this world. This is the giving of Right Dharma, the correct way of giving.

So, we need to “give rise to right faith.” We must have right faith in the Dharma. This is not for our own sake; we must contemplate the principles behind it. If we understand the principles behind it, our thinking will be correct and we will follow the right course and go in the right direction. This is how we practice according to teachings. This is because in the past, we have listened to the Dharma and shared it with other sentient beings. We should not be the only ones who hear it. For the Buddha-Dharma to spread, we must all listen, and in turn, teach each other. This is the right thing to do. “They will listen to the Dharma and then teach it to other sentient beings.” This is most important when we listen to Dharma.

“[They practice] upholding precepts, patience.”

[Practice] upholding precepts, patience: Those constantly mindful of precepts will remember and uphold them, not forget them and not commit evils. This is upholding precepts.

“Upholding precepts, patience” means that all of us should always be mindful of and uphold precepts. We often say, “Organize with precepts and manage with love.” Not only do spiritual practice centers require precepts, businesses in society do as well. If we all follow rules and stay on the right course, all kinds of big corporations and enterprises can be very successful, not to mention a spiritual practice center. If we all uphold precepts, this place will be filled with a spiritual atmosphere that can inspire and guide others.

So, in our lives, we must “remember and uphold [precepts], not forget them and not commit evils.” This is upholding precepts. Evils are created by our body, speech, mind, by what our body does and what our mouth says. If our mind is wholesome, everything we say will be the Dharma. If we do not keep the precepts in our minds, the words we speak will be improper. So, we uphold precepts to prevent wrongs and stop evils. We, as spiritual practitioners, must always abide by the precepts.

We must also be patient. As we uphold precepts, we must also be patient.

When people encounter things that go against principles and are disturbing to them, if they can be broad-minded and forgiving, remain at peace and be unmoving, they have patience.

We can practice patience when “things that go against principles are disturbing to [us].” If we encounter someone who is unreasonable, we just let them be. In the Buddha’s lifetime, He had to deal with Devadatta, who always went against propriety and principles. So how did the Buddha handle him? The Buddha’s principle was to be broadminded, so He forgave him with great broadmindedness.

“There is no one I cannot forgive, there is no one I do not trust and there is no one I do not love.” If everyone practices the Three No’s, what is there to take issue over in this world? “[If they can] remain at peace and be unmoving, they have patience.” If they can open their hearts and treat everyone impartially, then there will not be anything to take issue over or be afflicted by.

“Diligence, Samadhi, wisdom and so on” means we should be focused, not scattered, advancing without regressing.

Those who are focused are not scattered. Those who advance will not regress. With a straightforward mind, they walk the Path and diligently practice Right Dharma. They do all good deeds and are never indolent. This is diligence.

We must not be scattered and must keep moving forward. When something is right, we should just do it. I heard that, in Guandu, Taipei, people packed a room to listen to a group of entrepreneurs share how they were influenced by the books from Jing Si Publishing. One successful entrepreneur said the most useful phrase for him is, “Time, space and interpersonal relationships.” Then another person also answered, “Yes, after you understand, just do it.”

Yes, just do it. Regardless of time, space and interpersonal relationships, when something is right, promptly seize the moment and just do it. Regardless of the location, if it is the right thing to do, no matter where we are, we should just give. In our interpersonal relationships, we must find a way to forgive. “Do not use the mistakes committed by others to punish yourselves.” Everything is Dharma. Many entrepreneurs find it useful. So, to “focus” is to remove discursive thoughts from our minds and then face the right direction and “with a straightforward mind, walk the Path and diligently practice Right Dharma.” [We must] “do all good deeds and never be indolent. This is diligence.”

Dear Bodhisattvas, regardless of time, space or interpersonal relationships, everything we do in our daily living will affect all things in the world. Of course, all of us must aspire to continue teaching each other so the Buddha-Dharma can spread to more people. This is beneficial to the world around us and to all things in our lives. When we encounter the Buddha-Dharma in this world, we must seize that moment, and sustain it forever. If all sentient beings have the same mindset, the Buddha-Dharma can save the world. In order to save the world, we must save people; to save people, we need to first save our minds. So, we must take care of our inner spiritual training ground and always be mindful.

Episode 383 – Skillful Means Help Reveal the Supreme Meaning

>> There are all kinds of skillful means in the world that help explain the principles of unconditioned truth. Thus, teaching through conditioned phenomena helps reveal the ever-abiding True Suchness in sentient beings.

>> “And these great lords of sages know the deep desires in the hearts of all the heavenly being, humans and other beings in all the worlds.”

>> “Different skillful means are used, which help explain the supreme meaning. There is a myriad of living beings who have met these past Buddhas.”

>> Different skillful means are used: Skillful means are exceptional. All Buddhas, the Tathagatas, according to different capabilities, teach different skillful means so that sentient beings can see the path to Buddhahood.

>> [These] help explain the supreme meaning: The supreme meaning is the path of the One Reality. It is the ultimate true principle. Because it is unsurpassed, it is supreme. The deepest truth is the supreme meaning. This is the wisdom realized by all sages.

>> Myriad living beings are also “sentient beings.” This term refers to all animals with sentience and consciousness. They arise out of the accumulation of conditions, so they are myriad living beings. They also experience myriad births and deaths, so they are myriad living beings. In the Ten Dharma-realms, with the exception of the Buddha-realm, the sentient beings in the other nine realms are collectively referred to as myriad living beings.

This world contains all kinds of environments. Living in different eras, people give rise to different kinds of afflictions. This all happens in the world. The number of times the Buddha has come into and left this word is incalculable. In addition to Sakyamuni Buddha, countless other Buddhas have come into and left this world as well. They come to this world for one purpose, to teach sentient beings. When you hear this, you may wonder why I say this every day. Indeed, I say this every day because true principles do not change. I say the same words, but at different times.

Looking at yesterday, today and tomorrow, past, present and future, throughout this constant, repeating cycle of time, the same One Vehicle Dharma [is always taught]. This, the most important teaching, must be repeated every day. I hope that all of us can [transcend] the complicated conditioned phenomena of this world. Everything that we do can create good or bad karma.

Good karma comes from our intrinsic nature. Therefore, creating bad karma [goes against our nature;] it is not normal. When a thought goes astray, [our minds give rise to] the Three Subtleties, which are three kinds of very subtle afflictions. They are limitless and boundless, and cannot be seen nor touched. They cannot be traced back to a [tangible] source. But when we act on them, we create a lot of karma. Yet there are people who, when one [desire] stirs, destroy the magnificent mountains and rivers of the land. Aren’t these myriad of forms dependent on the workings of our minds?

Take Gansu Province, for example. If, decades ago, people did not think of cutting down the trees, today the mountains would still be beautiful and have vast [forests] that could provide the world with fresh, pure oxygen. They would be able to absorb a lot of carbon dioxide. Nowadays, the air quality is not good because we lack trees to absorb the pollutants in it. When thoughts stir in people’s minds, they become greedy and, without realizing it, [destroy] the entire environment. So, it has already gotten to the point where we can all see and feel what had been done

10, 20 years ago, to help people in Gansu Province, we began by building water cisterns. There were already no trees; the land was completely barren. Even if rain fell on the Huangtu Plateau, the plateau had already lost the ability to absorb water. Therefore, the province lacked water, which greatly affected people’s lives. If it did not rain, having the cisterns [would not be helpful]. So, this was not a good long-term solution. The only solution was for the entire village to move to a place where they could have access to water by drawing up water from the Yellow River using level after level [of dams]. Now the government can transport water through giant pipes up the mountain.

The water flows up through a series of dams until it reaches this Great Love village. People there now have easy access to water and can use it to cultivate their fields. Their harvest of crops is many times better than when they lived [higher] on the mountain. They now have a stable livelihood. Once their lives were settled, the focus turned to education, so we built schools. Now they can live and work in contentment.

We were so successful with this village that we were provided with another piece of barren land. We estimated that the land could accommodate more than 300 households and provide enough fields for them to cultivate. This is how [Tzu Chi] is now (2012) helping to move another wave of villagers down from the mountains and restore the function of the land.

We must use various methods to, first, stabilize people’s lives, and second, restore the vitality of the land. Then we must give the mountains and the Huangtu Plateau time to heal. We must allow them to lie fallow and undisturbed, so they can recover naturally and so the land can regain its functions. These are “all kinds of skillful means in the world.”

There are all kinds of skillful means in the world that help explain the principles of unconditioned truth. Thus, teaching through conditioned phenomena helps reveal the ever-abiding True Suchness in sentient beings.

People, with one ignorant thought, can destroy all things on this land. We must now recover the kind heart that we have had since the beginning. We need more people to realize [the importance of] helping others and restoring the functions of the land.

We use various methods to restore the land. They “help explain the principles of unconditioned truth.” How do we understand and apply these principles? Only the Buddha-Dharma can save this world. This world needs a collective effort from everyone between the heavens and earth to save it. The Buddha-Dharma can guide our minds back to our intrinsic nature so we can exercise this potential to protect our world. This “helps explain the principles of unconditioned truth.” We turn these intangible principles in our minds into a paved road; we call this paving the path with love. This is the Bodhisattva-path. Paving the path with love is unconditioned Dharma. We manifest the principles in our minds in tangible and material ways to show everyone a path that they can walk on. We all share the same power of love, so we can go in the right direction.

“Teaching through conditioned phenomena helps to reveal [this]. Conditioned phenomena” helps reveal the principles of unconditioned truth. We are using visible examples to show how the principles of the Buddha-Dharma can purify people’s hearts and bring forth their strengths. Strength comes from the heart, so revealing the Dharma helps to reveal ultimate reality. As mentioned previously in the Lotus Sutra, the appearances of conditioned phenomena help reveal the ability to help others, purify the world and restore the function of the land. So, we must apply our unconditioned mindset to create something tangible to reveal unconditioned Dharma.

This is how the principles of the mind are revealed. Our thoughts cannot be seen nor touched, but the things we do are what we thought about doing. People cannot see what we think, but our actions reveal our thoughts. This “helps reveal the supreme meaning,” which is the One Vehicle Dharma. So, the One Vehicle Dharma helps us return to the “ever-abiding True Suchness in sentient beings.”

The sutra passage says,

“And these great lords of sages know the deep desires in the hearts of all the heavenly being, humans and other beings in all the worlds.”

We discussed this previously. Next, we will discuss,

“Different skillful means are used, which help explain the supreme meaning. There is a myriad of living beings who have met these past Buddhas.”

This section tells us how. [Buddhas] used various skillful means. “Different skillful means are used.” We cannot just sit down and listen to teachings. We must go outside to observe the world and the workings of life and nature. Why is our world out of balance? Because of human actions, which come from our minds. Our minds can lead us to harm nature. This is what we must understand. We need to go beyond “Thus, I have heard; the Buddha expounded the Dharma at some place.” The Buddha expounded the Dharma somewhere, so we must internalize it. As we realize one principle, we can understand all principles. Once we thoroughly comprehend the principles, we must put them to into practice.

“Apply the Buddha-Dharma to your daily living and be Bodhisattvas in this world.” We are connected to everything. When all of humanity is suffering, we must mobilize everyone to express their love, which is an unconditioned truth and comes from the True Suchness within them. With our collective strength, we can protect all the myriad forms in the world and restore their vitality. We can eliminate sentient beings’ daily suffering, whether they are near or far. These are “different skillful means.”

We do not just listen to teachings of the sutras. If we only read the words on a page or listen to teachings from the sutras, our faith and understanding will not be deep. We must put the Dharma to practice. Upon seeing suffering, we must recognize our blessings and create more. This is how we put the Dharma into practice. The “desires deep in the heart” are the deeply rooted causes we each have. Good causes must be firmly and deeply planted. In this way, our surroundings will not disturb us. The more we give, the happier we will be and the more clearly we can demonstrate the value of this life, which is to develop our wisdom-life.

The next passage states, “Different skillful means are used, which help explain the supreme meaning.” We must put this principle into practice. When we do, people in need can live stable lives and our own minds will also be at peace. After we bring stability to the lives of others, after we give, when we see that they are safe and happy, our hearts will also be at peace. If we visit the first Great Love Village in Gansu now, the trees they planted have already grown, and their harvests are very abundant, season after season. Whether we look at the improved vitality of the land or the way they live, we can already tell that this was the right thing to do. This is “helping to explain the supreme meaning.”

Principles teach us the right thing to do. As we do it, we gradually pass on the Dharma, so those who were helped can now help others, too. For the winter relief distributions of 2012 in Gansu, the volunteers did not come only from Taiwan, or only from China; everyone came together to provide help this winter. Those from the first Great Love Village who had received assistance and stabilized their lives also traveled a great distance to return to the mountains and participate in the winter relief distribution. With this cycle of goodness, once they stabilized their lives, it was their turn to help others.

So, “There is a myriad of living beings.” These myriad of living beings are not just heavenly beings or humans, but also other kinds of sentient beings as well. All of them are sentient beings. “[They] have met these past Buddhas.” They had the right karmic conditions to be helped. These people must have had good karmic connections in the past. They must have formed good connections with past Buddhas.

So now, we need to further understand how.

“Different skillful means are used.”

Different skillful means are used: Skillful means are exceptional. All Buddhas, the Tathagatas, according to different capabilities, teach different skillful means so that sentient beings can see the path to Buddhahood.

“Different skillful means” are exceptional means. There are different kinds of skillful means. Some involve words and expressions, while others involve putting teachings into practice. They all help teach and guide sentient beings to resolve their afflictions and give them ways to eliminate difficulties in their daily living, etc. This requires exceptional means. So, [He used] various methods to give teachings. Various can be considered “different.” There are various methods for [different] needs.

For example, when we see others who are hungry or sick and we want to help them, if we say, “Grandpa, listen to what I have to say” he will respond, “I’m hungry. But you have to listen to what I have to say first.” Will he become full [by listening]? Of course not. Someone may say, “I am sick. Come, I will help you, but you need to sit up. I can’t sit up; how can you ask me to? But you must listen to Dharma with respect, so you must sit up.” Think about this, can he sit up? The Buddha-Dharma does not give us magical powers to cure people with a simple touch. That is impossible.

Doctors may undertake arduous journeys to [reach their patients]. I saw a news report on Da Ai TV. From Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital, Supt. Chien went up to Lishan with some doctors. The road was difficult to travel, but in Lishan, there are no doctors, yet there are many patients, so they traveled there to see them. This is “using different skillful means” according to sentient beings’ needs. When we help them first, they will do the same for others in the future. It may not be possible in this lifetime, but we may be planting seeds for the future so “sentient beings can see the path to Buddhahood.”

There are many skillful means “which help explain the supreme meaning.”

[These] help explain the supreme meaning: The supreme meaning is the path of the One Reality. It is the ultimate true principle. Because it is unsurpassed, it is supreme. The deepest truth is the supreme meaning. This is the wisdom realized by all sages.

The supreme meaning is the path of the One Reality. “It is the ultimate true principle.” To save others, to share the Dharma with sentient beings, we must use the ultimate true principles. This helps them escape suffering completely. The supreme meaning is unsurpassed; thus it is supreme. “The deepest truth is the supreme meaning.” When it contains the most profound principle, it is called supreme; this is the wisdom of the sages.

“There is a myriad of living beings.” All kinds of things arise out of the temporary union of elements. Therefore, they are called myriad beings. Sentient beings arise out of the convergence of causes and conditions.

If we understand this, we will not take issue over many things, because they are all temporary convergences. Myriad living beings are sentient beings. They are all animals with sentience and consciousness. They arise out of the accumulation of conditions. Thus, a myriad of living beings are in the Ten Dharma-realms. Except for the Buddha-realm, sentient beings are in the other nine realms. I have also discussed this before.

Myriad living beings are also “sentient beings.” This term refers to all animals with sentience and consciousness. They arise out of the accumulation of conditions, so they are myriad living beings. They also experience myriad births and deaths, so they are myriad living beings. In the Ten Dharma-realms, with the exception of the Buddha-realm, the sentient beings in the other nine realms are collectively referred to as myriad living beings.

I hope everyone will listen to the Dharma mindfully. The Ten Realms include the Four Noble and. Six Unenlightened Realms. The Buddha-, Bodhisattva-, Hearer- and Pratyekabuddha-realms are the Four Noble Realms. The Six Unenlightened Realms are the heaven, human, hell, hungry ghost, animal and asura realms. Together these are the Ten Dharma-realms. In the Ten Dharma-realms, aside from the Buddha-realm, the other nine are realms of sentient beings. The Buddha has already returned to the state of non-arising and non-ceasing, but sentient beings in the nine realms are myriad living beings. I hope everyone can comprehensively interpret this passage from the sutra. I hope you will always be mindful.

Episode 382 – The Deep Desires of Our Hearts

>> “The Dharma may take different forms as wondrous provisional teachings. It can be applied differently and taught according to capabilities.”

>> “And these great lords of sages know the desires deep in the hearts of all the heavenly beings, humans and other beings in all worlds.”

>> And these great lords of sages: All Buddhas have great enlightened wisdom, like a great, perfect mirror. All conditions can be reflected in this great, clear mirror. They are most honored by sentient beings, so They are the great lords of sages.

>> [They know everything] in all the worlds: The world is constantly shifting. The Buddha knows everything about the worlds of sentient beings, that all principles and forms are created by karma. The world is also comprised of time and space. The Three Periods of Time, past, present and future, are [the time aspect] of the world. East, west, south and north, the four intermediate directions, above and below, these ten directions, are the space aspect.

>> “The world” refers to the universe. In the Buddha’s teachings, it does not solely refer to the myriad forms we see in this land. When we talk about “the world,” we refer to everything from the universe to people’s lives. The universe and the land that sentient beings rely on is called the material world. Sentient beings create karma out of delusion, resulting in a physical body that goes through birth, death and existence. This is the world of sentient beings.

>> All the heavenly beings, humans and other beings: The heaven and human realms are part of the Six Realms. They are the two good destinies. By practicing the Ten Good Deeds and Five Precepts, we are among those who benefit the world.

>> The desires deep in the heart: A strong will to seek the Dharma. Deep karmic causes: They have deeply planted virtues that are difficult to uproot. Deep in their hearts: Their aspiration to seek the Dharma is strong. This is the desire deep in their hearts.

I am grateful at all times. We must be grateful for the Buddha’s kindness because His compassion and great realizations led Him to teach the Great Dharma in this world.

“The Dharma may take different forms as wondrous provisional teachings. It can be applied differently and taught according to capabilities.”

This is the Buddha’s compassion; for the sake of this world, He uses many kinds of methods to teach according to sentient beings’ capacities. With great realizations, He teaches the Great Dharma. The Dharma can take on different forms, depending on our capabilities. He applied certain methods for certain kinds of sentient beings, so He established both provisional and wondrous teachings.

“Provisional” refers to skillful means that contain the most true and wondrous Dharma. The Buddha has the compassion and wisdom to teach according to different capabilities. But these various skillful means are ultimately encompassed in the One Vehicle Dharma. All these suitable teachings ultimately show that people all intrinsically have Buddha-nature so that they will manifest their pure nature of True Suchness. “To transform infinite sentient beings” [describes] how They worked to enable sentient beings to enter the path to Buddhahood. This is basically what I said yesterday.

The next passage in the sutra states,

“And these great lords of sages know the desires deep in the hearts of all the heavenly beings, humans and other beings in all worlds.”

“These great lords of sages” is another way Sakyamuni Buddha refers to all Buddhas of the past and future. They have realized all things in the world, so Their understanding and views of this world include the heaven and human realms, as well as the asura, hell, hungry ghost and animal realms. They are all included, [so we speak of] “all the heavenly beings, humans and other beings.” All of us in the Six Realms are inseparable from “deep desires of the heart.” These habitual tendencies are very deeply rooted. Ignorance and desires are deeply rooted in ordinary people, so transforming them is indeed not easy.

Let us look at “great lords of sages.”

And these great lords of sages: All Buddhas have great enlightened wisdom, like a great, perfect mirror. All conditions can be reflected in this great, clear mirror. They are most honored by sentient beings, so They are the great lords of sages.

The great enlightened wisdom of all Buddhas is like a great, perfect mirror. All conditions can be reflected. In just this one great, perfect mirror, the entire world surrounding it can be reflected. So, a mirror can completely capture the world around it; everything is reflected in this mirror. Sakyamuni Buddha attained this great realization. But He was not the only one. All Buddhas of the past, present and future have an enlightened state of mind and can fully reflect everything in this great mirror. So, sentient beings revere Them most and consider Them the great lords of sages.

They are great lords of sages because. Their enlightened state of mind is so broad that in the world and in all the Six Realms, They can clearly understand all matters and principles. This is why everyone reveres Them. This is why They are great lords of sages.

[They know everything] in all the worlds: The world is constantly shifting. The Buddha knows everything about the worlds of sentient beings, that all principles and forms are created by karma. The world is also comprised of time and space. The Three Periods of Time, past, present and future, are [the time aspect] of the world. East, west, south and north, the four intermediate directions, above and below, these ten directions, are the space aspect.

“[They know everything] in all the worlds.” The word “world” seems very straightforward, but it actually encompasses many meanings. In the world, everything is constantly shifting. The Buddha knows that in all the worlds of sentient beings, all principles and forms are created by karma. The Buddha more or less understands that this world is constantly shifting, and the world can refer to space.

What is it that is shifting? Time. From the past there is an unbroken, uninterrupted chain of moments which has continued to this day. Then it will continue on for a long time, for innumerable kalpas. As I have said, no words can describe the scope of time. So, in Buddhism we use the term, “kalpa.” A kalpa is a long period of time; it flows constantly without ever stopping. This is the component of “time. The world” also refers to space.

The enlightened Buddha knew everything about the worlds of sentient beings, which include the heaven, human and other realms. The way sentient beings live, all their principles and appearances, are results of the karma they created. So, based on the karmic law of cause and effect, we follow the karma we have created and the currents of the river of time to end up in these different [realms]. [Where we go depends] on the karma we create. Cultivating the Ten Good Deeds leads us to the space of the heaven realm. Upholding the Five Precepts leads us to the space of the human realm. If we commit evils, we will go to different realms of suffering. This is all based on the karma we create.

This is how we explain “the world” in terms of time and space. “Time” is the past, present and future. As for space, it is above, below, the four intermediate and four cardinal directions. Worlds in these ten directions are “space. The world” [is time and space]. “The world” can also refer to the universe. The whole universe can be considered the world. All the stars in the universe are constantly revolving in their different orbits. So, though the universe seems to be unmoving, all the worlds, all the stars, are constantly revolving. This shows the presence of time.

The Buddha realized the true principles of all things in the universe. His mind and awareness [are one with] the universe. This is the state of great Nirvana, of non-arising and non-ceasing. This comes from realizing the principles of the universe.

“The world” refers to the universe. In the Buddha’s teachings, it does not solely refer to the myriad forms we see in this land. When we talk about “the world,” we refer to everything from the universe to people’s lives. The universe and the land that sentient beings rely on is called the material world. Sentient beings create karma out of delusion, resulting in a physical body that goes through birth, death and existence. This is the world of sentient beings.

So, in the Buddha’s teachings, the definition of “the world” is very open. In the principles of the Buddha-Dharma, “the world” does not solely refer to all the myriad forms we see in nature. It is more than that. “The universe and people’s lives are all encompassed in ‘the world,'”

not just the myriad forms in nature. Indeed, as I just said, [the world] refers to all the principles and appearances in the world, all the worlds of sentient beings and everything we can feel, everything we can see. The world of all sentient beings includes the dimensions of both time and space. Whether we live in Taiwan, or in Africa or somewhere else, we are all part of the world of sentient beings. In this world of sentient beings, why were some of us born in Taiwan? Why were some of us born in a very poor country in Africa? This is all because of one thing, a principle. What principle? The karmic law of cause and effect. Because of this principle, people’s circumstantial retribution led them to be born there.

But we also face our direct retribution when we are born in this world.

Some people are born wealthy, are blessed to be wealthy and educated and live a fortunate life. This kind of life is [due to having] good circumstantial retributions and good direct retributions. But some have positive circumstantial retributions and negative direct retributions. They may be born into a good family. This is due to their karma. They have an affinity with this set of parents, so they are born in this place. But their relationship with their parents is not very harmonious, bringing their parents much frustration and mental anguish. Or perhaps things change suddenly. Life is impermanent; there are constant changes. Some people may be born into poor circumstances and suffer from many hardships, but because of their direct retributions, they are very diligent and focused and vow to [make something of their lives]. So, they strive to find a way out toward a better life and are able to repay their parents’ kindness; there are also people like this.

There are all kinds of appearances in this world. So, principles and appearances are based on the law of karma. Appearances arise based on various conditions, which give rise to various ways of living. This all happens according to karma. This is what the Buddha teaches about the world. The Buddha had the wisdom to understand the principles behind the myriad forms of the world. He taught sentient beings to help us know and thoroughly understand this.

The universe and people’s lives are encompassed by what we call “the world.” In the universe, the land we rely on is Earth. But the Buddha has transcended the way we live on Earth. His understanding and views are of the universe, which remains in an unmoving state of purity. But He related all the truths [of the universe] back to this world.

This world is “the material world.” Our planet is a physical world, Tangible things are all part of the material world. Everything in the material world will arise and cease, from flowers to grasses to trees and so on. “Sentient beings create karma out of delusion.” We sentient beings, living in this material world, give rise to delusion and create karma here. For example, jade comes from a mine. Rocks of jade deposits are dug out and after people grind them down, they become very precious pieces of jade. How big does a mountain need to be for us to find something so valuable? Think about how the mountains, rivers and the land contain so many treasures. But we human beings become deluded because of them. This is why we dig mines and destroy and dig [into the mountain]. How much of the mountain must be removed to produce such a shiny and clear piece of jade?

This is how our desire gives rise to delusion. Thus we create karma when we damage all these beautiful things. A group of Bodhisattva[-volunteers] who returned from Gansu gave a report where they showed me pictures of a beautiful mountain. Sadly, there was not an inch of grass on it. Then the locals told the history of their land. In the past, the mountain forest was lush. It was destroyed [because of human greed]. The whole mountain was cleared out for steelmaking, for making weapons and so on. For the sake of people’s way of life, the forest was turned into coal. Then coal was used to render many things. So, the mountains became barren as far as the eyes can see. Indeed, humans caused this destruction. This is our ignorance, our delusion. The karma we have created now makes it so that people can no longer survive in this place. This is all human-caused destruction.

So, the place where we have a physical body that experiences birth and death is the world of sentient beings. So, we say that the world of sentient beings can be completely seen and understood by the Buddha. He uses His understanding and views to teach us.

So, when it comes to “all the heavenly beings, humans and other beings, the heaven and human realms, are part of the Six Realms.”

All the heavenly beings, humans and other beings: The heaven and human realms are part of the Six Realms. They are the two good destinies. By practicing the Ten Good Deeds and Five Precepts, we are among those who benefit the world.

The heaven realm is part of the Six Realms, and the human realm is also part of the Six Realms. The hell, hungry ghost, animal and [asura] realms are all parts of the Six Realms. Together, they are called the Six Realms. In each world of the Six Realms, the experience is different. Of the Six Realms, the heaven and human realms are good destinies. Those who do the Ten Good Deeds are born in heaven. Those who abide by the Five Precepts are born in the human realm. These are all people who benefit others in this world, So, “all the heavenly beings, humans and other beings” are part of the Six Realms. The Buddha said [the heaven and human realms] are the two good destinies.

So, “[Buddhas] know the deep desires of the heart.” The Buddha said that sentient beings have deeply rooted desires. If they become greedy, they will destroy a myriad of things in the world. If they move towards “faith,” if their will to seek the Dharma is firm, these sentient beings will be in good destinies.

The desires deep in the heart: A strong will to seek the Dharma. Deep karmic causes: They have deeply planted virtues that are difficult to uproot. Deep in their hearts: Their aspiration to seek the Dharma is strong. This is the desire deep in their hearts.

Heavenly beings will come to this world to take refuge with the Buddha. The Buddha appears in this world, and if they take refuge with Him and can “have a strong will to seek the Dharma,” they are oriented towards goodness. If they [are oriented toward evil], they will stubbornly remain deluded. These are sentient beings of the evil realms. There is a mix of good and evil in this world, the Saha World.

So, “the desires deep in the heart” [can] lead to the good realms, the heaven and human realms. In the human realm, some wealthy people live in heaven on earth and still constantly do good deeds, uphold the Five Precepts and do the Ten Good Deeds. This is having a strong will to seek the Dharma.

If their will to seek the Dharma is strong, their causes and virtues will be deeply planted. Then they will be difficult to uproot. So, we must plant them deeply so regardless of the challenges [we face], they cannot influence our deep faith and aspiration to seek the Dharma. If we are sincere in seeking the Dharma, our root of faith will be deep and extensive. Then whatever [challenges arise], they cannot uproot our root of faith. This is why, when we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must be mindful.

If we have a deep desire to seek the Dharma, we will seek it diligently; we will be earnest and serious. This is “the desire deep in the heart.” Our “desire” is to seek the Buddha-Dharma and wisdom, to seek the Buddha’s understanding and views, and apply them to our own understanding and views. We want our understanding and views and the Buddha’s to converge so we can benefit others in this world; this is our deep [desire].

In summary, we must be grateful. Regardless of our capabilities, the Buddha patiently gave various teachings. We now have so many teachings we can share and so many principles we can listen to. This allows us to put the teachings into practice on the great Bodhi-path. Therefore, we must always be mindful.